But Its Only Pie
by CandleHeadButt
Summary: Post-Movie, there are still many things that are changing in the lives of our heroes. While Ralph is happy with the way things are going, he finds himself torn between his home and Vanellope when gossip flows through the arcade, bringing to question what really matters about a character's role in their game.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One- Pie

Mix, roll, cut, crimp, fill, bake!

One pie hot and ready!

Mix, roll, cut, crimp, fill, bake!

Two pies hot and ready!

It was another busy game day and for a particular group of characters, that meant things were REALLY cooking!

The Nicelanders in Fix-it-Felix Jr. were working hard away, preparing the many pies needed to hand out for the busy game day, each one ready to climb the ladders and run all through the apartment with their tasty treats.

Anyone who was even NEAR the game could smell the delightful aroma of baking pies wafting down the cord, the entire station soon filled with the scent of pie.

Apple? Blueberry? Peach? Pecan?

It was all there, and if anything it made several characters hungry!

If there was one game known for its fresh baked pies, it was this game but at the same time, if there was a game known for how feverishly the bakers made them, it Fix-it-Felix Jr.!

As so many had said, the Nicelanders MIGHT have looked like walking eggs but man, could they make a MEAN pie!

Inside her apartment Mary opened the doors of the oven, a blast of heat and a sweet smell of strawberry filling the entire apartment. She breathed in deep, the smell making her warm all over.

"Oh, another wonderful batch!" the woman cooed to herself as she carefully laid the pies on the counter, stacking them with the many others.

There was no argument about it. While everyone in Niceland was programmed how to make a decent pie, if there was on person who EXCELLED at that talent, it was Mary. Then again, Mary excelled at baking EVERYTHING that could be made under the sun. Her cakes, pies, cookies were always the talk of the apartments and if there was something Mary enjoyed, it was sharing her talents with others.

There was a certain joy the woman got when she saw the look on a character's face when they took a bite of her cooking. To see their faces light up and their mood brighten was enough to let the woman know that in her own little way, she was making a difference somewhere.

She knew she wasn't the most powerful character, the fastest, or even the most important since she was just an NPC….

But she loved her job.

Everyone in Niceland loved their job.

Some might have thought it was boring or even tedious but not the Nicelanders.

They were more than happy to run throughout their apartments to give pie to their hero, a man by the name of Felix.

It was their job and it was something they loved to do.

But by now, everyone knew that things weren't always so hunky-dory in the small game. Only a few weeks prior, everyone in Niceland was in fear that they were going to lose their homes. After thirty years of being ignored, feared, and outright ostracized by his fellow game-mates, the big bad of the game decided to jump ship.

And the results were DISASTROUS.

Well, for the most part.

Things were on the brink for EVERYONE but by some wave of a miracle, something had happened.

Ralph had saved the day.

And not just one game but possibly ALL of the games in the arcade.

He had become a hero not only to the other characters but to the Nicelanders as well. They learned that Ralph wasn't just some person who was out to make their lives miserable or to threaten their safety and in that one daring act, the Nicelanders realized that there was not one but TWO heroes among them.

Things had changed in Niceland and they had changed for the better.

As the weeks went on, Ralph and the Nicelanders were starting to get closer, a feat none of them would have really thought would happen in all their lives but step-by-step, everyone was getting closer. It wasn't easy for all of them but there was some progress being made. Not only were the Nicelanders learning that Ralph had a heart as big as his huge body but Ralph was learning that even the Nicelanders had their quirks that he enjoyed.

Lucy loved music, Norwood was always snarking on someone, Nel was quick on her feet and her wit, Don just LOVED to tell stories and Meg was always ready to share a pot of her homebrew tea with the wrecker.

Ralph couldn't believe it but he was starting to enjoy the company of his neighbors.

Even the very one who had caused him the most pain….

Gene.

There was still a bit of tension between the two men as things were starting to clear up in the game but from the eyes of everyone else, it seemed like BOTH men were trying out do each other in both pride and stubbornness.

While Gene had admitted that he was wrong about Ralph, the little blue Mayor still was a bit hesitant, something he always showed around characters he was wary about. It wasn't just Ralph, but considering he LIVED with the man, the poor wrecker had always gotten the worse of Gene's anger.

The wrecker on the other hand was hesitant himself, wondering if Gene really meant some of the things he said. Of course, EVERYONE in Niceland knew that Gene kept his promises and he had NEVER broken them since the day the game was plugged in. Despite this, Ralph continued to convince himself that Gene was lying somehow, if only to have someone to complain about.

It was an unstoppable force and an unmovable object.

Both men were acting like children towards each other but neither one would admit it.

***BOOM!***

"**_NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!_**"

Mary looked out the window, watching Gene fly off into the distance as another stick of dynamite had blown up in his face. Ever since the truth had gotten out, things had changed in the arcade, the biggest on being that Fix-it-Felix Jr. had become a haven for characters whose game had been unplugged over the years but it wasn't just homes they had received….

They had gotten an opportunity to work again.

Of course, with that extra work came an extra duty for Gene and that was to be LAUNCHED out of his window whenever the bonus stage started. Mary couldn't help but giggle as she heard the man's scream go into the distance but at the same time, something began to tug at her heart.

It was no secret to anyone that Gene didn't like his role of being a throwing object in the game but since the bonus stage had been put into place, Mary began to worry more than ever. She began to worry that perhaps Gene had agreed to take on a bit TOO much. After all, HE was the one who agreed with Ralph and Felix to continue in the act.

He didn't have to, BUT HE DID.

If that were the case, perhaps he actually didn't mind but either way, Mary felt a bit sorry for the man, worrying that he would soon blow himself up if he took one too many blast to the face.

"Quitin' time!"

Felix and the others strutted back into the apartment, happy that another work day had gone off perfectly. Mary opened the door of her apartment, watching her neighbors file in but there was one person in particular she was looking for.

Gene.

She found it odd that after everyone had gotten in, the Mayor still wasn't found. Perhaps he had been blasted TOO far this time?

"Goodness…" the little baker said to herself "I wonder where he could b-?"

"URGH! Just need to-!"

*CRACK!*

There was a heavy sigh from the hall, Mary looking out to see Gene stretching his short little arms and placing a hand on his back.

"Man, I need to start workin' out…" the man said with a huff, his hair a mess and ashes all over his face and suit.

Opportunity strikes!

Mary smiled as she hopped out of her apartment "Mr. Mayor!"

The little man stopped in his tracks and turned towards the woman, blushing like mad.

Another secret that was OBVIOUS to everyone?

Gene's love for Mary.

There were many things that Gene loved but the top thing on that list was his love for the baker but in thirty years, Gene had been much too bashful to say ANYTHING towards her. Sure, there were a few little hints here and there but nothing beyond an action that made Gene so embarrassed that his chubby cheeks turned redder than a spiny-fisted echidna.

Apparently, Gene could be sharped-tongued to EVERYONE else….but when Mary entered the situation…he felt as small as a mouse.

"O-Oh, hello-!" the man stumbled, catching himself "Hello, Ms. Mary! H-how are you doing this evening?"

"I'm fine, SWEETIE." The baker said, only accenting her words to make Gene blush more "I was just wondering if you were in the mood for some pie."

Oh, so many things went off in Gene's head.

"P-Pie?" the man stammered, wanting nothing more than to put his hands to his face to hide his glowing cheeks "Th-that sounds GREAT dear, but I-"

"Oh, don't tell me you have something else to do other than eat." the woman teased, tickling Gene under his chin "I know you too well, Mayor. You're always hungry by the end of the game day!"

Indeed.

Gene placed his hands on his round belly, feeling a little rumble as he smelled and thought of pie.

He knew he would indulge himself too much somehow but….

"W-well…I guess that would be a good id-WHOAH!"

Before Gene could interject, Mary had PULLED him into the apartment, wasting no time in shoving him in a seat and placing an entire pie in front of the man.

"Is this blueberry?" the man smiled, cutting right into the pastry and savoring every bite.

Mary smiled as she watched Gene enjoy her pie but there was something more to it than allowing the mayor to eat his fill of her baked goods.

She was getting closer. Even though she couldn't find the courage to say it, she was getting closer to Gene and with each new move that she made, she loved it.

She just wished she were brave enough to tell the man the truth but unbeknownst to her, Gene was thinking the exact same thing. He was hopping that Mary didn't see him as a glutton since he was always willing to take up an offer whenever she mentioned food to him but he enjoyed EVERY second of being around her whenever the two got a chance to share a pie together.

They couldn't say it, but they loved each other.

And the pie was the thing that was bringing them closer.

Ah yes, pie.

Pie is such a wonderful thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Meetings

"So how are things going today?" asked Saten with a smile.

"Better than I could have ever imagined!" the wrecker beamed with pride "Remember when I told ya guys tha Nicelanders were actually bein' NICE? Well, it's more than that! WAY MORE!"

"Oh, do tell!" said Sorceress, floating next to the man.

"Ya know, I never thought I would actually be sayin' this but…but those little Weebles are really nice to hang out with! I mean, they still have their vises to 'em but honestly? They're actually…friendly people."

"Good for you!" said Clyde "I'm glad to see that you're getting the respect you really deserve from your game mates and I'm also glad to see that you're enjoying their company! It's one thing to get respect but I find that actually getting to know the people you work with is an even greater pleasure!"

"It is!" Ralph nodded "Man, I've been gettin' so much baked goods in the past few weeks I think I might be puttin' on a few pounds! Perhaps I should get Gene to make ANOTHER bonus stage so I can work off some of this weight!" the wrecker smirked, the other characters laughing with him.

"Just GREAT! Ralph find FRIEEEEENDS!" zombie moaned, almost losing an arm as he FLUNG himself on the wrecker "SEE?! One step, at TIIIIIIME!"

"Yeah…" Ralph said in a soft voice, thinking about everything he had gained in the past few weeks. He really did have to count his blessings. He was luckier than most characters once things came down to it.

He had a home, he had friends how loved him, and he knew he was more than just what he had been labeled as.

Ralph was happy….and he wanted things to stay that way.

The big man leaned in his seat as he munched a cookie, "Ya know guys, somethin' came across my mind though. I mean, I'm glad everythin' is clearin' up but it made me realize that we REALLY did spend thirty years apart an' I just wondered why!"

"Interesting…." Said Clyde "What else have you thought about?"

"Don't mean to bring up any old wounds for ya guys but…but has anyone else here gone through somethin' similar to what happened ta me? I mean, I know people can be scared of ya but ta have your own HOME frightened of ya? Anyone else go through that?"

A few of the bad anons murmured amongst themselves, remembering a few things from their past.

"Well, there was some tension when we were first plugged in…" said Neff "But overall, no…Not really!"

Ralph leaned forward, running a hand through his hair "I just don't get it guys. The one thing that always confused me was the turn…"

"The turn?" asked Clyde, still doing his floating motion as he hovered above his chair "What turn?"

"Well, lemme put it like this. When we were first plugged in, yeah we all had the tension of getting' ta know each other an' I will admit, I won't hold it against tha Nicelanders for bein' scared of me…AT FIRST."

"Oh? Did something happen?"

"That's the thing!" Ralph shrugged "It was like a few weeks in, EVERYTHIN' went south for us. Tha Nicelanders were all of a sudden TERRIFIED of me but I didn't do anythin' ta really provoke it, not that I can remember! It was like waking up to find that EVERYONE else had changed but YOU remembered everythin'!"

"Hmmmm, that does sound odd…." Said the cyborg, an annoying squeak ringing through as he ATTEMPTED to scratch his metallic skull "Did you take this up with Felix?"

Ralph sighed, hanging his head "No….an' I'm startin' ta realize that maybe if I DID…."

Clyde looked at Ralph, the ghost thinking back to what Ralph had said.

"Ya know, perhaps BOWSER should weigh in on this."

"Yeah, big guy! We'd love ta hear ya say somethin'!" said a little imp "Ya always sit here but we almost never hear ya speak! I know YA have some stories ta tell!"

Bowser smirked, some sharp teeth showing through. Even though he was a part of the bad anons, the huge Koopa enjoyed listening to his fellow game mates than tell his own tales but once he was asked, he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"So ya said something shifted the first few weeks when you were plugged in, eh?" the huge reptile asked the wrecker.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me Ralph, back then did ya ever see anyone else takin' with those Nicelanders of yours? I mean, see them interact with other people, good or bad?"

Ralph tried to remember so many things from the past thirty years but of course, with so many memories a few of them became lost. He did notice something to Bowser's words and that was the fact that he DIDN'T remember seeing the Nicelanders interact with too many people outside their game.

Oh, maybe a character here or there. Tappers, Peter, a few of the Street Fighter characters and a LOT of the smaller NPCs….

But other than that…nothing.

"Why do ya ask?"

"Well, as ya guys know, MY game was actually a trade…" Bowser said to the others "We've only been here for about six years or so but things were WAAAY different back at the old place!"

"Tell us Bowser!" said a little demon frog-girl.

"For starters, there were a LOTTA small guys who HATED me!" the Koopa began "Always thinkin' I was gonna hurt 'em, crush 'em! Do TERRIBLE things to 'em!"

The reptile snorted a laugh, reaching for a cup of tea.

"Heck, even had a lil guy that reminded me a lot of your Gene, Ralphie-Boy. Man was always on my case and thought of me as 'Just the bad guy!'"

"Well, what did you say ta 'em?"

"I brushed him off…" Bowser said with a shrug, "I knew the guy was angry at me but other than a mild annoyance, he had no effect on MY life. After a while, we just stop bothering each other."

"But why would he go after you in the first place? I mean, he DID realize you're not JUST 'bad'!"

"There was a reason for his anger…I got a taste of that first hand…"

"And..?"

Bowser sat up, looking at his fellow anons "Guys, we always talk about how bad it feels to be seen as terrible people but trust me when I say that I have seen MANY sides of the arcade. UGLY sides. Back at our old place, I found out the reason that lil guy was always on my case was because he and his other game mates had been HARASSED by other bad guys. Bad guys who WERE bad guys!"

The anons shook their heads in disgust, not wanting to BELIEVE that someone would be so cruel.

"Urgh, DISGUSTIN'!" said Zangief "Did they not know that you do not gain RESPECT by putting FEAR in people hearts?"

"Heh, but that's what happened. An' it wasn't just THOSE guys that got the worst of it. It was EVERY NPC in the arcade!"

"Wow, that sounds TERRIBLE!" Ralph said, shivering at the thought "An ENTIRE arcade where everyone is pushed around?"

"Why do you think I was so happy when I got here?" the Koopa said "This place is so peaceful compared to the old arcade. Even my TROOPAS and some of the Toads were harassed by the bad anons!"

"That's TERRIBLE!" gasped Sorceress "Those poor lil things? Kicked around!"

"Lucky I had their back!" Bowser laughed deeply, cracking his huge knuckles "No one was gonna mess with mah boys while I was around!"

"So….if I'm understandin' this correctly, you're saying that the Nicelanders aversion of ME….might have stemmed from something that happened OUTSIDE our game?"

"Perhaps. I mean, that's what it sounds like." Bowser said "Ya did mention that things were goin' fine until a few weeks in. It sounds odd that they would just TURN on you like that WITHOUT a reason and other bad anon harassment seems like a good action. It's just sad that they took your anger out on YOU since they assumed that YOU would be the same. That in itself isn't fair…."

"Yeah…" Ralph said, thinking back "But geeze….I never really thought of things like that. I mean, I said I never paid any attention to what those guys did outside the game. I-I wouldn't have known if they ran into any trouble an' they sure as HECK didn't tell me!"

"Aaah, there is nothing worse than a scared NPC…" said a little demon "There's nothing worse than being scared no matter what your role in the game is."

Ralph nodded in agreement, suddenly feeling even more thankful that things were starting to clear up between himself and the Nicelanders but the thought of more game harassment bothered him. Ralph couldn't stand bullying but he also couldn't stand the notion that he had MISSED bullying that was happening right under his nose. He didn't want to seem like he had IGNORED some things that had come up but he just didn't know.

"Is it normal that I feel bad for not doin' something about it now?" the man asked.

"Sadness comes to us all Ralph, that's normal…." Clyde said "But unfortunately, there are things that we miss. We all have failings in the past l but what we can do is make things better now and right now, you are on that path!"

Ralph smiled a bit, his thoughts starting to clear.

"Ya think that?"

"Yes!" said the cyborg "Ralph, you've made progress that some of us WISH had happened to us in that time!"

The wrecker's started to feel a flutter in his heart once he remembered the things that had come to him in the past few weeks. He wanted things to get better and there was going to be nothing that could stop him! He was sure of it!

"Thanks guys…" Ralph chuckled "I just needed a little reassurance I guess."

"Hey, we're here for ya…"Zangief said with a smile as he patted the wrecker on the back, perhaps a bit too hard as Ralph nearly toppled over.

"Speakin' of of bein' with each other, is anyone up for a night at Tapper's?" smiled Sorceress, floating out of her seat.

"Ya know it girl!" said another bad anon.

"Aw, great!" Ralph smiled as he clapped his hands together "What better way to finish the night than-!"

The man stopped in his tracks, a hand going right for his forehead.

"Oh, wait!"

"Is something the matter?"

The wrecker ran over to the phone on the wall, being extremely careful to dial the numbers with his pinkie and NOT bust the thing through the wall.

That had happened before. He was certain not to let it happen again.

_Riiiiing._

_Riiiiiiing._

*Click, click!*

"_Hello?_"

"Ah, Felix!" Ralph smiled "Ya still there buddy?"

"_Course I am! Why do ya think I answered?_"

Ralph snorted a laugh "Hey, I was just callin' ta ask what time Calhoun is comin' over!"

"_Tammy? She's gonna be over at eight? Why?_"

Ralph hissed as he looked back at his anon buddies, "Oooh. Eight?"

"_Is there a problem?_"

"Hey guys!" Ralph shouted to the others, his hand on the receiver of the phone "Looks like I'm out! Got other plans!"

"Awww, but big guy!" pouted the little frog girl.

"_Wait, is somethin' goin' on?_" asked Felix from the other end.

"Yeah, the guys wanted to head out ta Tapper's for a drink but since Calhoun is comin', I don't wanna miss-!"

"_Tapper's? That sounds like a GREAT idea!_" Felix said with cheer.

"Really?"

"_Yeah! Ya know what? Go ahead with the anons! I'll bring Tammy over around eight thirty or so and we can make it an outing!_"

"Felix, ya sure about this? I mean, I wouldn't want to seem RUDE by not showin' up an' all…."

"_Ralph, go ahead and have fun! Ya deserve it! We'll meet ya there later so don't worry about a thing, brother!_"

Ralph smiled as he nodded towards the others, giving them a thumbs-up sign.

"Great Felix! I'll see you there!" the wrecker grinned as he hung up the phone "Well guys! Looks like we're goin' out after all!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three- Hesitation

"Dear, stop fidgeting…." Mary said as she adjusted the tie around the mayor's neck, the man shaking a bit.

"Sorry darling, but I can't help it!" the man said with a slight pout "I'm usually so happy when Felix brings guest over but this time…"

"What? What is wrong?"

"Well, it's that woman…Miss Calhoun." Gene said in worry "I've heard stories about her through the arcade. I just hope MOST Of them aren't true."

"Gene, this is no time to make accusations about people! You know that's not right!" Mary said with a huff, pulling the man's cheeks.

"I know, I know! But-!"

"But what? You're acting as if Felix is bringing home a virus or something!"

Gene looked STUNNED a Mary, almost as if he could not BELIEVE what she had just said.

"Dear, I know I am wary but don't think I am THAT judgmental of the young lady!"

"Then why are you so nervous, Gene? What reason do you have to think so poorly of her?"

The mayor rubbed the bridge of his nose as he turned away from Mary "I don't think she's a bad person. I just…"

Gene stopped, his mustache turning down a bit.

"Mary, believe me when I say I don't want to think ill of the woman but at the same time, I just want to be CAUTIOUS. That's all."

The baker gave Gene a strange look. There he goes again, acting as if the entire game was going to be put in danger because of some unknown force that apparently only he could see. Mary wanted to move on from judging characters and being scared but more importantly, she wanted GENE to do the same as well. She shook her head as she brushed some lint off the man's shoulders.

"Mayor. You should spend more time getting to know people better than being SCARED of them. And besides, Felix seems so happy around her!"

"I know dear…" Gene said, looking a bit upset "And when he's happy, we're all happy."

"Gene? Honey? What aren't you telling me?"

"Hmm?"

Mary put a hand on the man's cheek "Look, I can understand someone being PROTECTIVE but you're crossing that line and I want to know why! Why are you so SCARED to meet this woman?"

"Ms. Mary, I am NOT scared!" Gene said crossly.

"Then tell me the truth…" the Nicelander in pink replied, having not budged an inch "What is causing you to have these misgivings? You haven't even MET the girl and you're giving her the once over already!"

Gene was feeling HORRIBLY guilty from the lecture Mary was giving him but he knew that she was right. He had no right to judge Calhoun so harshly, even if he was a little nervous of meeting her. It seemed like everyone save for himself had been excited to meet the woman since Felix had started telling the little people about his encounters with her. To see Felix going on and on and acting so happy and to be IN LOVE; the sight just made EVERYONE in Niceland happy.

Who knew how far it could go.

They would start dating…and then…marriage?

Gene gulped as the big M-word crossed his mind but remembered what Mary had told him. He was letting bad notions lead the way again and he already knew what would happen once THAT got out of hand.

This was a new day and if he wanted things to change, HE had to change was well. It was going to be hard, but he knew it was for the better.

"Alright…." The little Mayor breathed out "L-let's go!"

"FINALLY!" Mary smiled "I told you, there is nothing to worry about at all!"

Mary took a hold of Gene's hand, the mayor INSTANTLY feeling as small as a mouse again as he felt himself being pulled towards the elevator. The two Nicelanders found that they were the last ones out of the building as the rest of their neighbors had arrived beforehand and even more surprising….

Felix and Calhoun were already there as well.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all!" the tall, muscular marine said, a smirk on her face as she looked down at the tiny people. Gene felt himself tense up a bit at her grin, something within him telling him to be careful.

There was something about that grin that was just too familiar.

PAINFULLY familiar.

"Dear, come on…" Mary said, pushing Gene forward.

"Mary! GAH!"

"Hero's Duty sounds like a tough place!" chuckled Don as he tipped his hat towards Calhoun "Though I can tell ya can EASILY whips those Cybugs into shape!"

"HA! From the way ya talk, sounds like ya wanna get in on the action yourself!"

"What? Me? NAAAW!" the little sailor laughed "I'm a man of the SEAS. I'm not really good with guns!"

"_'Specially since they're about three times our size…_" snorted Norwood, Nel jabbing the man in his size.

Calhoun smiled as she looked down at the bunch, feeling humored as they talked with you.

"Heh, they certainly are an…INTERESTING bunch." the woman snickered "Can't believe most of them are older than me though. It's like looking at DOLLS. Really, really squishy dolls."

"Oh! Gene!" Felix beamed as he finally spotted the mayor coming from the crowd "I was wondering where you were!"

"Er, sorry about that Felix. You know I NEVER mean to be late so-NYAGH!"

Felix rushed over and PULLED the man towards Calhoun, Felix grinning from ear to ear.

"Aaaaaan' THIS is Gene! He's the mayor of this place!"

Calhoun looked down at Gene, the small Nicelander feeling not unlike a tiny cat about to be attacked by a huge dog. He craned his neck up, Calhoun's height migraine-inducing to him.

"_Programmers…._" The man thought to himself "_I knew Felix said she had some HEIGHT, but I never thought like this!_"

"Mr. Mayor, it's nice to meet you! I've heard all about you!" Calhoun said with a smirk.

Uh-oh.

Gene felt his shoulders hunch once the woman said those words. With everything that had gotten out in the past week, Gene was certain that smile she was giving him was filled with anything BUT a friendly greeting. He knew it was coming, but he might as well prepare for it.

"A-as I have about YOU, young lady…." The mayor responded, adjusting his cardigan and trying to seem as proper as possible "Felix has spoken the WORLD about you and I must say, he was right!"

Wait, did that come out the way Gene WANTED it to?

Calhoun laughed "Oh he HAS, has he? He hasn't mentioned TOO much about me, hmmmm? Anythin' about my HIDDEN stash of guns? My bombs or antyhin' like that?"

Gene blanched a bit as Calhoun looked down on him again. Goodness, was she only mentioning those things to toy with him or was she giving him a WARNING? A warning that she might use them on Niceland sometime soon.

"Well, I er-!"

Calhoun suddenly erupted into a laugh as she put a hand on her hips "At easy, Genie! I can call you that, right sir?"

Gene shivered a bit though he was trying his hardest to remain stoic.

"W-why yes, yes you can!"

"Just jokin' with ya, Genie! I only use the HARD STUFF during EMERGENCIES and seein' the way ya run things here, I doubt ANYTHING big will happen here!"

Something in Gene's eyes lit up a bit.

Had Calhoun…COMPLIMENTED him?

Was this REALLY happening?

Gene suddenly looked towards the woman much like a child who had been told he was getting an extra slice of cake for dessert. He was just that happy.

"Why….THANK YOU." The mayor breathed out in relief "I can see why Felix goes on and on about you!"

Mary walked up to Gene, pinching him on the side "Didn't I tell you things were going to be alright?"

"And who is this?" asked Calhoun.

Gene once again jolted at the sound of Calhoun's voice but he quickly reminded himself that there was nothing to fear. Still though he stepped in front of Mary a bit.

"This is, ahem, this is Mary! She is our resident baker!"

"I thought you guys ALL baked…" Calhoun asked with slight confusion.

"Oh, we do!" Gene said, sounding a bit proud as he waved a hand towards Mary "But SHE is the one that does it all. Ever hear someone mention how WONDERFUL the pies are here? Its probably because they're talking about MARY'S pie!"

"Gene, stop!" the Nicelander in pink giggled, blushing a bit.

"How can I stop? It's true!" the mayor said, suddenly getting off track "You're pies are WONDERFUL! Nothing can match up to them and they ALWAYS come in handy when Felix needs them, so-!"

"Hey, hey, hey! You guys REALLY do like pie!" Calhoun laughed, putting a hand to her head.

Gene blushed brightly once he realized that he had lost his train of thought, his embarrassment going further when he noticed that everyone around him was snickering at him, even Felix!

"Er….yes. B-but pies are a part of the game…."

Calhoun looked down at Felix, a smile coming on her face "Ya know, this place might be…..LAX but it is pretty nice."

The repairman grinned, hopping up and kissing Calhoun on the cheek "Aww, Tammy! You're just too sweet!" The marine stood strong, her lips curling into a playful grin.

As everyone continued to converse with each other, Gene found that his first notations of the new character were wrong and he couldn't have been happier.

"_Maybe….maybe Mary was right…."_ The mayor thought to himself once more "_Things ARE changing here and for the better, I might add!"_

"Mr. Mayor?" Felix asked with a smile "Ya up for a lil double-date?"

Gene blushed again, wondering why in the world Felix would ask such a question.

"A DOUBLE DATE? With whom?!"

"Ms. Mary of course…" said Calhoun as she pointed to the pink Nicelander "She is your wife, isn't she?"

Gene's eyes widened so much that Calhoun was certain they would have EXPLODED from his skull. Realizing what she had just said, the woman put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh! My mistake, I thought she was-!"

"Th-th-th-that's f-f-f-fine y-young lady!" Gene stammered, trying so hard to gather his thoughts but he couldn't do so, especially when the word WIFE was CLAMORING in his brain!

Darn it, he had been caught!

Completely oblivious to what was happening, Felix grinned and put a hand on Gene's shoulder "A double date sounds GREAT! I'm sure you an' Mary would have a great time!"

Gene felt like crawling into a hole and disappearing at this point. He WANTED to go on a date with Mary but with everything happening so fast, he didn't even know if he had the will to even ASK her now. And what if she said NO, what would he do then?

"Hey Mary!" Felix called.

Gene let out a small squeak as he waved his hands about "No! NO! FELIX!"

"We're headin' out tonight to Tapper's. Wanna join us?"

Mary looked at Felix but then turned her attention towards Gene, seeing that the man was turning as red as a beet before her. She couldn't help but laugh, much too entertained by the Mayor's reactions.

"Oh, that sounds WONDERFUL dear!" Mary sang, putting a bit of emphasis on her voice to play with Gene who was now starting look more like an excited puppy than anything else.

"R-really?"

"Yes! It's the weekend! We all deserve a little break!" Mary said "Why not bring a few of the others, if they want to come?"

Gene was starting to feel more comfortable at the notion of some of the other Nicelanders joining him, at least not to feel as if he were clutching onto Mary TOO much.

"W-why not! It would be the PERFECT way to get to know everyone better!" the Nicelander grinned smugly "Of course, what better way to get to know someone than sharing a few drinks?"

"Hey, this guy is speakin' my language!" Calhoun laughed, reaching down and putting a hand out towards Gene.

The small Nicelander hesitated once more, backing away from Calhoun's hand as if he expected her to suddenly lash out on him or toss him into the brick pile. Mary walked forward, pushing Gene towards the woman.

"Dear, you don't want to be RUDE, do you?"

Of course not, but he was still skittish, his mind doing flip-flops about his reaction towards the woman.

She was friendly enough, that's for sure but the Mayor was still worried that there were different thoughts going through her head. Thoughts that she was hiding as to let the Nicelanders get too comfortable before the truth came out.

No, no. He had to stop this! He had promised himself after what had happened between himself and Ralph NOT to let such petty things cloud his judgment on people. Everyone seemed to enjoy the company of Calhoun so why shouldn't he? He had no reason to fear her.

At least, that's what he thought.

His hand shaking, Gene reached out and SHOOK Calhoun's hand, the woman smiling brighter than before.

"Nice ta meet ya, Mr. Mayor!"

Gene was being lifted off the ground with each swing of the hand but he didn't let go. What proper gentleman would do so?

"_Wow! What a grip!_"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four –Gossip

Gossip can be such a polarizing thing. For some, gossip can bring forth a bit of laughter, especially once the truth is revealed to be something silly and in the end, a rather small issue that hurts no one.

But in other instances, gossip can be such a hurtful and dangerous thing. It can be something that rips friendships apart, destroys trust and at worst breaks even what was thought to be the strongest of love into pieces.

Gossip travels fast through Litwak's Arcade and with so many mouths and ears trading stories it is no surprise that things can get mixed up along the way.

What might have started out as a simple little story could grow into a vicious, enormous lie and all by day's end if the story were interesting enough. Games might deny that they allow themselves to fall prey to the power of gossip but there has never been a game at Litwak's, even from the very start that has been of a white lie or two.

For the past few weeks, gossip had been going around the arcade about what had happened in Sugar Rush and Fix-it-Felix Jr. In most cases, some of these stories were indeed true.

King Candy was really Turbo.

Vanellope was trapped within her own game.

Ralph had been treated as a bad guy despite not being a bad guy.

These were all well a true but as expected, some of the accounts began to grow more and more out of control.

Soon people were talking about how King Candy might have actually been a character in the game, that Turbo deleted him in his rage after failing to delete Vanellope. Those were wild stories indeed but they were not the only ones.

What made this so terrible though was that not one of the citizens of either game knew what was going on, or at least that's what everyone thought.

There was still a lot of healing to be done, a lot of friendships to mend and a lot of trust to be earned but with a touch of gossip, such hard work was susceptible to collapse.

And all it took was one misunderstanding…

And then disaster.

Ralph sat with several members of his Bad Anon group at Tapper's, yet another round of the house specialty root beer. Things were so lively in the establishment that several others had decided to join them, laughing it up and milling about the day. For Ralph, this was a dream come true. So many years he had spent angrily moping his days away, feeling lonely, feeling forgotten.

But that was all in the past.

Now the wrecker had friends, he had recognition and he had fun.

What more could a man ask for?

The big man took another long sip of root beer, cheering along with the others as another round was placed before them.

"TO LITWAK'S!"

"TO LITWAK'S!"

"Hey, did I miss out on somethin'?" said a cheeky voice from behind the group. Ralph turned around, seeing none other than Vanellope Von Schweetz standing before him and grinning ear to ear "Hope I didn't miss out on any of the fun!" the girl laughed.

"Nope, so pull up a chair an' grab a mug!" Ralph smiled, waving a hand towards the girl to come forward. Vanellope didn't miss a beat, glitching her way to a chair and reaching out for a mug of root beer, her tiny hands only inches from it.

"S-so, what's up big guy?" she said with a struggle, a bit too small to reach the glass.

Ralph pushed the glass towards his friend, "'M just watin' for Felix an' Gene ta come on by!"

"Felix n' Gene? What's goin' on?" the girl asked in curiosity, taking a drink. Ralph looked down at the girl with a teasing grin.

"Nnnn, somethin' 'bout a DOUBLE-DATE." The wrecker chuckled to himself "Just means that the love birds are gonna be givin' each other doey eyes for most of tha night! Smooch-smooch!"

"But I thought Felix n' tha Sarge were tha only ones together! Who is Gene comin' with?"

Before Ralph could answer, another loud cheer came from the crowd. The man looked over, seeing Felix and Calhoun walking in, Gene and Mary following behind. Ralph bent over, pointing towards the two Nicelanders.

"_Ya see that?_"

Vanellope looked over "_Yeah?_"

"_Mary n' Gene, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!_"

Vanellope couldn't help but buckle over in laughter as Ralph sang in her ear, her sides hurting at the very thought.

"O-Oh, come on! Th-that can't be true!" the girl laughed.

"'Ey! I've seen those two for THIRTY YEARS kid! Anyone with eyes can see it!"

"See what?" asked Felix, the man walking up to both wrecker and racer suddenly. The two looked at each other for a moment or so but despite their attempts to remain stoic about the situation, they just could not wipe the silly smiles off their faces.

"Aw, its nothin' Felix!" Vanellope laughed "Why don't ya an' Calhoun join us! Grab some of Tapper's special before it's all out!"

"Sounds like a grand idea!" the repairman said, grabbing himself a seat "Hey! Gene, Mary!"

The two Nicelanders looked over at Felix, Gene stepping forward "Yes?"

"C'mon! Have a root beer on us!"

"Ah-ha, that's fine young man! We have it covered!" the mayor smiled haughtily, adjusting his tie.

"Now Gene, Felix is offering us a gift. It would be rude to turn it down…."

Gene blushed a bit as he looked over at Mary but he quickly recovered, putting a shaky hand atop hers "No, no, no. We've already intruded in on Felix's date with Calhoun. The least we can do is give him a bit of space so he doesn't have to worry about us! After all….I-I can cover for us."

Mary twittered as she pinched Gene on his chubby cheek, the man turning as red as a cherry atop a root beer sundae "Aw, isn't it like you to be the gentleman, Genie!"

The blushing continued, Gene feeling as small as a mouse and feeling as if the entire establishment were looking down on him, quite possibly because THEY WERE.

"_Snk, squishy love…._" Someone whispered from afar.

"D-Dear! I-I mean, MA'AM! I-it's just something anyone would do!" Gene stuttered, putting a hand on his now sore cheek.

Mary simple nodded, pushing Gene into the booth as she sat down "Tappers? I'll have a your cherries jubilee special brew…."

The woman then turned towards Gene, giving him a playful look, her lips sending off so many messages to the man.

"The mayor on the other hand will have your Triple Tapper's root beer float. Ya know….the BIG one!"

By now, EVERYONE in the bar was looking over and Gene and smiling, the little man left with nothing more to do than bury his burning face in his hands.

"DEAR. Why?!"

Mary grinned "Because I know you can't say no to food!"

"_**PFFFT!**_"

Gene turned his head a bit, glaring over towards the sound of the laugh, seeing Vanellope shaking on her chair as she tried to keep herself from falling over in hysterics. Felix could see Gene seething in anger but rather than stammering about like he would do before, the repairman gave Gene a little wink and shook a finger towards him.

"Now Gene, Mary is offerin' ya a GIFT! Ya can't turn it down, can ya?"

Gene forced a grimace, feeling all sorts of annoyances at what was going on but he turned back towards Mary, seeing the woman looking so happy before him.

How could he stay mad at a face like that?

"_You're only going to end up spoiling me if you carry on like this…._" The mayor whispered.

"Who says you're not spoiled already?" Mary retorted, poking Gene on his nose.

"Isn't that so ADORABLE?" Felix asked, looking so love-struck that anyone around could have sworn her was levitating off his seat. Calhoun placed a hand atop her boyfriend, her other hand pulling him closer to her.

"I just don't understand it. Why does everyone from your game have to be so cute? It's not fair…."

Felix turned in Calhoun's arm, taking her hand and giving it a small kiss "The more for ya ta love I guess…"

What a lovely scene. So much romance in the air, so much caring.

And right in the middle of it sat a little girl, her face buried in her hands and feeling all the more annoyed with each passing 'I love you!' and any other overtly cute compliment that flew through the air.

What the heck had happened? When she got to the bar, everyone was yucking it up but as SOON as Felix stepping into the room, everyone had gone soft!

It HAD to be Felix, it always was!

"Aurgh! Its startin' ta feel like a soap opera in here! Let's get some action goin' on!" cried Vanellope, getting a little tired of being surrounded by nothing but hokey love from every corner.

"Well, aren't we gettin' a little fidgety…." Said Ralph.

"Ya know it's true! If I'm not watchin' Felix an' Calhoun kiss, now it's THOSE two! I'm gonna drown in all this mushy lovin!"

"But Neellllly!" Ralph cooed teasingly "It's so BEAUTIFUUUUUUUUUL!"

"TAPPERS! PLAY SOME MUSIC! PLAY SOME KARAOKE! ANYTHING!"

"Okay!" shouted Tappers, turning on the karaoke machine, only to choose the most romantic song that was on the current playlist "This what ya were askin' for young lady?"

_My sweet love takes you to all the stars!_

_I can't wait to hold you in my arms and kiss you all night long!_

"Auuuurgh! NOOOOO!" screamed Vanellope "Turn on the Mortal Kombat theme! Pac-Man! SOMETHING WITH ONLY THREE BARS! ANYTHING BUT THAT! WHAT GAME IS THAT EVEN FROM!?"

"Heh, I think we've tortured her enough Tappers!" waved Calhoun "Give the kid a break and play somethin'…FAMILIAR!"

The barkeep nodded, hitting a few buttons on the machine before a familiar tune began to play. Vanellope looked around, her eyes lighting up as the music filled the air.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Ya know it kid…." Calhoun smiled.

"THIS IS MAH JAAAAAAAAM!" Vanellope shouted, jumping to the front of the crowd and grabbing a mic "ES-YOU-GEE-EY-AAAAAAAAAAH! JUMP INTO YOUR RACIN' CART! SUGAH RUSH! SUGAH RUSH!"

The trio of friends sat at the bar, completely stunned.

Stunned that Vanellope's voice was SO terrible.

"Well, she is just a kid…." Felix said in an embarrassed tone "She can get better with time!"

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAH! OOOOOOH! AHHHHHHH!**_"

If it were at all possible, PAPER would have SHATTERED at the note that was just belted out from the girl's lips. Ralph felt his hair standing on end but he forced a smile anyway. He HAD to.

"Y-Yeah! She'll get better! SHE'LL GET BETTER!"

Three hours and several terribly sang songs later….

"Alright Nelly, give your vocal chords and our ears a break."

"Whatever ya say Sarge!" Vanellope grinned at the marine "But you're robbin' my audience of such a performance."

"Right. It's SUCH a shame!"

"HEY!"

Vanellope couldn't stay mad at Calhoun, especially since she knew that the woman was only playing with her so what was the point of getting angry when someone as having a little fun? The girl looked around, still amazed at what she was seeing.

It would have been hard to believe that only a few weeks before she was trapped within the confides of her own game, alone, forgotten, feared.

But here she was, laughing it up with everyone and enjoying such a wonderful night. The moment touched her heart, making her realize just how lucky she was.

Just how lucky RALPH was.

She gazed over to her larger friend, sitting by and watching as he chatted with Felix and Calhoun. She really didn't pay attention to what they were saying for it was their expressions that captured her focus the most.

It was just how funny things had turned out. Vanellope had heard all the stories, she had heard all the tales. With the way Felix had gone about ignoring how things were actually working in the game, Vanellope wondered why Ralph would even want to hang out with him but there he was, the two men talking it out like they inseparable.

And then there were the Nicelanders.

Vanellope looked over at Gene and Mary, the two chatting amongst themselves, everyone else paying them no mind. This was the first time in a while Vanellope had even noticed the Nicelanders, at least out of their element. They stuck out a bit, being so much smaller than many of the patrons of the bar but they seemed so content and happy by themselves.

And what was more, Ralph didn't seem to mind having them by.

It was no mystery to anyone in the arcade that Ralph and Gene were not FRIENDS by any means but the way they had acted towards each other when they arrived at the bar made Vanellope wonder just what in the arcade everyone was talking about. Sure, it wasn't as if the two had suddenly becomes best friends out of nowhere but it sure looked as if they at least TOLERATED each other when they were in the same area.

Granted though, the fact that MARY was with Gene might have had something to do with it.

If there was anyone who could keep Gene's temper down, it was HER.

"Sure you don't want another float, BIG GENE?" the woman asked playfully.

"Mmph, I think you've got me covered for the night!" the mayor said, his voice breaking a bit in his bashful state.

"_What a goob…._" Vanellope laughed to herself, entertained by the man's futile efforts to hide the fact that he was beside himself with happiness to even be sitting next to Mary.

Maybe those small words of wisdom were right; maybe things DO change.

And thankfully, they do change for the better.

"Hey Ralph?"

"Yeah?"

"Do ya like the way things have turned out? Do ya really feel better like this?"

Ralph looked down at the girl and smiled, placing a hand gently atop her head "Kid, I wouldn't exchange this for all the gold medals in the world!"

"Are ya sure ya can carry all that stuff back?"

Both Ralph and Vanellope looked back and saw a couple of characters helping Tappers make room for the growing rush of customers to the karaoke bar, one of them struggling with a heavy looking table.

"I-I got it! I just don't wanna drop this on your foot or something!"

"Hold on, lemme help ya!" said the other.

"No, wait! I got-!"

With one move, the table slipped from the characters hand but thankfully it didn't fall on anyone. Rather it landed sideways and slammed into the bar, causing several drinks to tumble from the counter and onto the floor.

Well, except for one

"GAH!"

SPLASH.

Vanellope found herself covered from head to toe in root beer, her large mug toppling over and landing atop her head. Ralph rushed over to his friend, pickling her up off the ground.

"You okay, kid?"

Vanellope took the glass from atop her head, looking down to see that her hoodie was DRENCHED in root beer. She sighed, undoing the licorice tie from her hair.

"Great, just great. I took a THREE HOUR BATH to clean off all the caramel that had gotten on me from today's race, now THIS!"

"Need any help with that young lady?" asked Tappers.

"Ya think this can wash out?" the girl asked the barkeep, pulling her hoodie off "I should be thankful this thing soaked in most of the root beer but look at it!"

"Sure it can! Here, lemme give ya a few towels." The barkeep said "Just go to the back washroom and you should be able to rinse it out! The sinks are kinda big so you should be able to work with your hair as well!"

"Thanks Mr. Tappers!" Vanellope grinned as she hopped off to the bathroom, towels in hand "This might take a while big guy so if ya guy have other plans, just lemme know! I'll catch up with later!"

"Hey, I wouldn't leave ya like this!"

"Don't worry about me, Stink-Breath! Just have fun!"

One would think that with the years she spent alone, Vanellope would know a thing or two about getting rid of a mess on her clothes but as she was quick to find out there was something about the formula in Tapper's root beer that made it harder to get out than she first thought. The girl stood on a chair and continued to wash and soak away, surprised that only a SMIDGE of the root beer had come out. She wrung her hoodie as best as she could, upset to see that it was still a bit dingy from the soda.

"Rugh, looks like I'll have to ask Swizz for his super bubble formula for THIS!" the girl groaned, upset that her favorite hoodie was on the verge of being ruined "I don't get it. I can get out diet cola with no problem at all! Even that stick red stuff we have but THIS is givin' me a hard time?!"

"Can ya believe it? Felix an' Calhoun are datin'!" came a voice.

Vanellope squeaked as she heard the names of her friends being called. She looked around, seeing two characters coming into the washroom. As they were chatting amongst themselves, they paid no mind to the small child busy shoving her hoodie in the sink and instead walked over to the other group of sinks.

"Yeah, who knew that a small fry like that would land a lady like that!"

"I know right! If Felix were to marry anyone, I thought it would have been one of those Nicelander ladies! I think a few of them had an eye for him!"

"Ya think so? I thought most of them were taken for!"

"What gave ya THAT idea?"

Vanellope knew that it was rather rude to listen in on someone else's conversation but with the two being so close, she cuoldn't help. She pretended to wash her hoodie, an ear out for any more news.

"How much ya wanna bet before those two are walkin' down the aisle?"

"Me? I'm not a bettin' man an' ya know it!"

"Heh, wuss."

"AM NOT!"

The racer snickered "_Silly guys. Why put a price on love like that?_"

Perhaps there was nothing more to be said of the matter. After all, the two characters seemed to be going on about things she already knew about so what was the point of staying inside. Vanellope looked at her hoodie and gave a sour look. It was going to need a good cleaning and that job wasn't going to get done at Tapper's.

"Bleh, can't wait to get this thing home…."

"Hey, did ya hear about what the Nicelanders are plannin' on doin'?"

"Huh? I haven't heard."

Again, Vanellope's interests were peaked. Someone mentioned the Nicelanders? Who knew where this could lead.

The racer looked around, realizing that the two characters might get a tad suspicious if she continued to hang around any longer but by now she was much too interested to hear what they had to say to leave.

What to do, what to do?

Duh!

In a blink of an eye, the girl glitched away into another stall, making sure she was hidden from view but in her haste, she realized something.

"AH! My hoodie!"

"Say, what's this?" asked one of the characters from outside the stall. Vanellope clamped her hands over her mouth, making sure she wasn't seen or heard.

"Ah, someone must have left it here. Wonder why it's wet…."

Darn it, darn it, DARN IT!

"Meh, we'll take it to Taps later! What were ya sayin' about those Nicelanders again?"

Ah, just what Vanellope wanted to hear!

"Well, don't quote me on this…."

"When have I ever quoted you on ANYTHING?" one of the characters smirked.

"Oh ha-HAN. Will ya take me seriously for a second? I got this from some guy from Need 4 Speed who heard it from Battle Pawz who heard it from-!"

"Lemme guess? Ol' man Litwak himself?"

"Give me some room ta talk! I heard on the cord that those Nicelander were plannin' on kicking Ralph out of the apartments again!"

"What? Why?"

Vanellope flinched once she heard those words.

"_R-Ralph's getting' kicked out again?!_"

"I dunno. Something about Gene not up ta lettin' the big guy into the apartments. Apparently he wasn't too impressed with what Ralph had done an' since he technically didn't bring back a medal…."

"Wait, where did ya hear this from again?" asked the other characters "This is all soundin' a bit fishy ta me!"

"Ya know how skittish those Nicelanders can be! I wouldn't put it past 'em! Would ya?"

"Well….."

"Think about it man! They say a leopard never changes its spots, well a Nicelander never changes its pies! Those guys have been playin' it up since their game almost got unplugged!"

"What reason would they have to though? It all sounds silly to me!"

"Think about it. With Felix changin' paths, those guys have ta find a new way to SUCK UP to him, dontcha think? I mean, that Calhoun chick just up an' came into their spot. Why wouldn't they want to find a way to get Felix to stick around with 'em?"

The first character gave its companion an unimpressed look. This was all too big to even be true "That makes even less since than the story ya just told me….because if they kicked Ralph out, wouldn't Felix get mad an-?"

"C'mon, ya hafta think about this! The Nicelander were on Ralph's case for thirty years! Do ya really put it to 'em to change like this, even when faced with the fact that Ralph's BETTER than 'em?"

"L-Look, I don't like where this is goin'…." The first character said again, looking and sounding nervous "I mean, unless I hear and see this for MYSELF, I'm not gonna jump ta any conclusions from this! I mean, we all saw how those guys were gettin' along with each other in the bar. M-maybe things were just stretched a bit when tha story finally got ta ya!"

"Really? REALLY? You're willin' ta put it past 'em?"

"Y-yes! I mean, I've seen a few of those lil guys! They don't seem that bad!"

"They let Ralph on the wayside for THIRTY YEARS an' that Mayor of theirs is more than willin' ta do it again!"

"I get what you're sayin' about all this stuff but I'm not gonna believe it, especially since this has more or less been a game of TELEPHONE since this so-called news broke!"

"Fine. Believe what ya want but tha moment ya hear that Ralph is out in tha cold again….."

"You're tellin' ME to be careful of what I believe? What about YOU? You've taken to heart a story that has been cut and pasted so many times ya don't even know WHERE it originated from! Talk about the pot callin' the kettle black!"

"Okay, then how's this for news since the thought of Ralph doesn't concern ya!"

"I never said it didn't-!"

"Ya know that kid that hangs out with Ralph? The candy princess?"

"Yeah?"

Vanellope felt a jolt go up her spine at the mere mention of herself.

What had these two heard about her?

"Heard Gene doesn't take to well of her either…"

"Now this is even harder to swallow…."

"Heard it from one of the bad anons!"

Bad Anons?

Ralph always hung out with those guys and from what Vanellope could see, they were an honest bunch.

The girl could feel her heart racing, wanting nothing more than to hear what else had to be said.

"WHICH anon?" said the other voice, rightfully skeptic about how the story was going to continue.

"I dunno, one of the BAD ones. Maybe a robot or somethin'? Well, they said that Gene thought that Vanellope was trash just like Ralph!"

Ouch.

"_W-what-?_" the girl said in a low voice, scared that the others could hear her. Thankfully, she found they were much too engrossed in their own exchange to even see if anyone else was around. Maybe they WANTED others to hear all this information or perhaps they knew Vanellope was hiding only a few feet away from them, delighted in spilling all this news right in front of her.

But why?

Why would anyone say such horrible things?

"Gene wasn't too impressed by Vanellope, I heard. Thought the kid was a dirty little brat but he laughed at the idea that she and Ralph would make PERFECT companions!"

"Where are ya gettin' your info from again?"

"Like I said, it's been goin' all over the arcade! EVERYONE knows about this!"

Everyone that was, except for Ralph and Vanellope.

The young girl could hear the sounds of the doors swinging open as footsteps left the room, the girl now sitting alone in the stall as her eyes remained on the tile floor.

What had she just listened in on? Was it all true? Had everything she heard facts that were slowly worming their way through the arcade?

"_I-it can't be true…._" The girl gasped to herself "_It just has to be a stupid rumor!_"

If it were a rumor, then why did it feel so real?

In her silence, Vanellope could hear the sounds of everyone in the main bar having the time of their lives, unaware of what had just been said in the confines of the washroom. Perhaps it was better that way. It wasn't as if the word had been spread people would be any happier.

For so many people, they would be upset.

Especially Ralph.

Vanellope was hurt. She and Ralph had already gone through so much in a short time that to know that it could be taken away again so quickly? She couldn't stand it.

But the thing that hurt the most for the poor girl?

Knowing that the person who apparently wanted Ralph to remain forgotten was sitting out in the bar, enjoying himself as if nothing were wrong.

No, no! This couldn't have been right! This had to be a mistake! A terrible mistake!

But she remembered the stories, the stories of how the Nicelanders, especially Gene, had treated Ralph for so long.

They had been so scared of him, leaving him alone and forgotten. Were they really playing face to everyone, only to continue the same cruel treatment they had given him before?

Especially from Gene. Gene had been the worst of the lot, leading the way for all the Nicelanders to follow in his horrid little footsteps. All of them acting not unlike the same tormentors that had plagued her for years upon years in Sugar Rush.

But that was different! It was different!

King Candy had them under his control. He had their minds in the palm of his hands. Through his own misdeeds and influence he was able to create an entire game that turned against her. He even made her forget who SHE was.

But the Nicelanders.

No one fiddled with their code. Their choice to fear Ralph was theirs and theirs alone, with Gene egging them on to follow his own narrow views.

This had to be a lie. It just HAD to be!

Vanellope felt TERRIBLE. Hearing the stories of what the Nicelanders had been planning had hit the poor child hard and the more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

She couldn't believe it; after everything Fix-it-Felix had went through, after all the fear of losing their home….

The Nicelanders still weren't going to give Ralph a chance?

Had she heard those words correctly?

The small girl felt a swell of anger form within her than she had never experienced before. The more she thought about the words, the more her fury began to boil.

How could they?

How DARE they!

After everything Ralph had done to save their lives, they still weren't going to give him a chance? Hadn't they learned ANYTHING from what had happened?

The girl glitched in anger as she thought of Ralph alone in the brick pile, the cruel Nicelanders living it up in their warm cozy apartments all the while knowing that only a few yards away, Ralph was tossed aside like some afterthought.

No. It was like one of the characters had said; it was just a rumor! It HAD to be a rumor.

"_C'mon Vanellope, those were just words!_"

PAINFUL words.

Still reeling from the conversation, Vanellope walked out of the washroom but as she did, something on the wall in front of her caught her eye.

The wall of fame at Tapper's.

She looked down the long line of characters who had their pictures put up over the years. There were so many people, so many faces that Vanellope couldn't even count them all. She looked at one end to the other, seeing the likes of her own image along with Ralph near the end.

As so many people had said before, after the things they had accomplished, why didn't they deserve their pictures on the wall?

But then the face of ONE person struck a chord with the girl.

Gene's.

Gene.

GENE.

The little girl could only look at the image in anger. After all he had done, after all he had said, why was he on the wall?

He didn't deserve to even share the same space with everyone there.

None of the Nicelanders did!

The words that Vanellope had heard continued to run through her head, making her angrier and angrier and without even giving it a second thought the girl jumped up….

And SMACKED Gene's picture off the wall.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five – Inconvenience

There was a bit of a chill in the air as Nicelander Mary awoke from her slumber, the small woman slowly rising from her bed as she stretched her arms.

"Goodness….it feels that I just feel asleep…" she said to herself, remembering the night she had had with Gene and the others. She should have known better; to party that much on a work night when she knew she had to hand out pies the rest of the day. There was nothing worse than running on empty with a job to do.

"Oh, I have no room to complain. I'm aware what I have to do…." She mumbled, wrapping herself up in her robe to fight off the chill "I better make myself an extra strong batch of tea this morning."

"GAH!"

The sudden scream from down below was just the ticket to jolt Mary from whatever exhaustion she was in. She squeaked, running over to her window to get a good peek at who was outside but rather than seeing her fellow neighbor, something else was outside.

"OH! Oh, GRACIOUS!"

What met Mary's eyes in the morning sun wasn't just the light filling Litwak's but something else much more unwelcoming. From every corner of the apartment lawn, someone had draped every tree with….

"Tissue paper?" Mary said to herself, a little confused. She shook her head, suddenly realizing it wasn't JUST tissue paper hanging from the trees.

"Wonderful….they couldn't wait for HALLOWEEN to do this?"

The small woman rushed down stairs, joining her other neighbors and upon stepping outside she was quick to find that the mess was even bigger up close. The entire front end of the building was simply wrapped in toilet paper as were the trees that stood closest to the screen. The other Nicelanders chittered amongst themselves at the sight, each and every one of them peeved by what they saw.

"Aw man, did they really have to do this NOW?" asked Norwood.

"You're right! The game!" gasped Pearl "This place is going to open soon! How can we clean this up before the players arrive?"

Mary looked around, trying to see if there was any clue as to where the mess had come from but as she looked off to the side, something caught her eye.

While the main building of Niceland was covered in sheets, EAST Niceland was clean and spotless as it had been the night before. The little woman made her way towards the buildings, seeing several of the other characters coming out to get a view.

"Q*Bert! Dear!"

The little orange blob stopped, hopping over to Mary " #*%#$&#?" translation: Yes, ma'am?

"You didn't happen to see anyone coming in here last night, did you?"

The creature shook his head, more gibbering coming from his person. Q*Bert was honest enough and when he told the truth, Mary and the other Nicelanders knew he was speaking from his heart, at least from what little they could understand of him.

"Has Felix seen any of this?" asked Kal.

"Pfft, has GENIE?" chuckled Norwood "I know he's gonna FLIP his top once he sees the mess!"

"What mess?" said a familiar voice from behind the others. The group of tiny people looked back, seeing Ralph lumbering up towards them.

"Is there something I missed or -WHOA!"

"Nice to see you're impressed by this…."

"Holy-! When did THIS happen?" asked the wrecker.

"We have no idea, dear…." Mary sighed, walking over to a bush as she grabbed a large armful of toilet paper "But there is no use in gawking around. We have to clean this up before we get to work!"

The woman looked back towards the others, wondering why they hadn't moved.

"Well, come on. We don't have that much time!"

Without losing a beat, the others began the clean-up, the residence of East Niceland helping out.

"Why does all the funny stuff have ta happen when we're asleep?" asked a little dragon to its snake neighbor.

"Aw, come on. What's so fun about this? WE'RE the ones cleanin' it up!"

"I guess so. At least OUR place didn't get trashed!"

"Yeah, Ralph's wasn't touched either!"

The wrecker felt his ears twitch, unable to keep himself from listening in on the conversation.

Yeah, that was strange. He looked over to his little shack, noticing that just like East Niceland his place had been left untouched. Someone had REALLY gone out of their way just to target the main apartment where the Nicelanders resided but for all purposes why? It was such a childish prank and if anything, EVERYONE was forced to clean up, not just the Nicelanders.

"Mmm, why is everyone out here?" came a sleepy voice.

"Gene!" shouted Mary, throwing a huge wad of paper in the trash "It seems that we had a few visitors the other night."

Gene was still groggy, not yet coming to from his slumber "Huh? What do you mean by-?"

The mayor looked to the side, finally seeing the unholy MESS that lay before him. He gasped, running past Mary and out onto the lawn.

"AUGH! What is-?! Why is there-?! WHO DID THIS?!"

"I think that's something EVERYONE wants answers, Gene…." Ralph chuckled, rolling his eyes. Unable to say anything, Gene could do nothing more than look dumbfounded in the front lawn, the many lines of paper wafting around him like delicate sheets.

Delicate sheets intended for not so delicate purposes.

Realizing that there was not much he could do the mayor growled in anger, looking around just as a line blew in his face. He stood still but his anger was starting to rise.

"Of COURSE this would happen on a work day…."

"Hey Gene! Make sure ya don't get any caught on your shoes!"

"**_NORY._**"

The Nicelanders were put in a pinch as they rushed to clean up the yard, barely doing so in time just as the first flock of gamers rushed into the arcade. To say that the little people were EXHAUSTED from running around cleaning up would have been an understatement but they still couldn't rest on the job.

Nope. It was time to hand out pies.

"**_I'M GONNA WRECK IT!_**"

"**_NYYYAAAA_***_cough!_***_AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!_**"

"_Whoa, you okay there?_" whispered Ralph, noticing that Gene looked a tad tired.

"*_Fuuuu!* Just throw!_"

Not missing a beat, Ralph tossed Gene into the distance but after seeing how tired he looked, the massive man gave his throw a slightly less amount of strength, Gene landing in the bushes rather than his usual line of trees. Even after landing, Gene lay in the grass, moaning in pain as he just wanted to sleep right there.

"Nnnngh, pies. I gotta hand out pies….."

The man rolled over, placing his hands on his stomach "C'mon Genie, get up. Get up…."

*_Crunch, crunch_*

"_Hmmm?_"

Gene rolled back over on his stomach, his eyes looking around for the source of the strange sound that he had heard. After a few second, he decided that the sound was just that of the leaves in the trees above him but then….

*CRUNCH!*

"**_NYAAAGH!_**"

The mayor cried out as he jumped up, something hitting him in the face. He flailed about for a few moments before realizing that the object on his face wasn't anything for him to fear. In fact, once he pulled the item away he found it to be nothing more than a bag.

"What is th-?"

The sound of crinkling plastic continued as more bags began to blow past the man and after catching a few, he realized that they weren't just any bags.

They were bags that once held the very rolls of toilet paper that had been used to drape the entire apartments.

"Now how did-?"

The familiar sound of Felix going through a game over hit the man's ears, making him realize just how long he had been out near the trees. He knew he had to get back but he was still curious as to WHO had left such evidence behind, especially now that it made it clear that someone had indeed snuck into the game intentionally. Gene shook his head, realizing that he was thinking too deep for something like this.

With such a prank, it would be better if Surge handled it. It would be best not to escalate things to massive proportions.

But still….

The man toddled back off to the apartments, glad that the gamers had occupied themselves with other games. He watched his neighbors making their way down the stairs, each one showing signs of great fatigue.

"I knew rushing through the clean-up was a bad idea…." pouted Lucy "I didn't get a chance to organize my pies! I scrambled so much for them I was afraid I would let Felix down when he came to my window!"

"Count yourself lucky…" said Deanna "I dropped a few in my rush. I still have to clean up that mess."

The mayor said nothing as he made his way up the stairs, the bags still in his arms. He really needed to get this stuff to Surge and then things would get back to normal. After all, it was just a stupid prank, there was no way it could get any worse than that.

"Heh, keep your cool Genie…" the man said to himself "You made a promise to yourself. Don't let things go overboard. Don't let things go-!"

"OOF!"

"GAH!"

The mayor was cut off from his self-mantra when he came into contact with another being. He landed on his rump, dropping the bags on the floor.

"Hey, guys!" the man said, his side a little sore "Watch where you walk before-!"

"Mmmm, sorry Mayor…" came a tired voice.

The mayor's eyes shot open as he looked forward, seeing that the figure he had ran into was none other than Mary. He blushed horribly, going to his feet to help the woman up.

"O-o-oh, MARY!" the man stammered "I am so, SO sorry for running into you like that! Are you alright?!"

Gene was checking on Mary as if she had been throttled in a fight much to the woman's amusement but she stopped him, clutching onto his wrist and pulling them down.

"Dear, I'm fine…" she smiled though Gene could see that she too was tired "I just wanted to put everything back in place before another gamer came along, that's all!"

"Oh, ha! Great!" Gene said, still nervous "With the way everyone has been carrying on, I was afraid that you were hurt o-or tired or-!"

"Gene, I'm fine. I can take care of myself!" the little woman said, putting a finger on Gene's lips and only adding to his embarrassment. One quick look on the floor caught the woman's attention, seeing the bags and wrappers scattered on the floor.

"What's this?"

"These? Oh, something I found near the trees. I can only guess the perpetrators of our recent vandalism stashed them there to hide the evidence. Hmph, as you can see they did a terrible job of doing so!"

Mary shook her head, helping Gene clean up the mess "Ah, and here I thought things were going to be peaceful around here again."

"What do you mean by that?"

Mary looked at Gene but he could tell that she was holding something back, something that only made him worry more from the inside.

"I was just…I was just thinking out loud! Nothing that you need to worry yourself over!"

"Mary, are you sure?" asked the mayor in concern "I mean, if anyone has said or done ANYTHING to you, I can-!"

"Mayor, please!" the woman said sharply "There is no need for you to worry about me-US! Shouldn't YOU be getting back into place just in case a player comes by?"

Gene felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach by Mary's reaction. He was only trying to reassure her that he would help her should something come up but from the way she reacted, it was almost as if he had OFFENDED her in some way. He gave the woman in pink a sad look, taking a step back.

"Oh…okay. Sorry if I….if I upset you."

Sadness crept on Mary's face as she opened the door to her apartment, slinking in "I-its alright."

Without saying another word the woman slowly closed the door, leaving Gene alone in the hall. At least the man THOUGHT he was alone. Unbeknownst to him, two other men were around the corner, listening on what had happened.

"_Awww, poor guys…_" whispered Felix sadly.

"_Man, I've never seen 'em so down before…_" said Ralph "_Ya think the prank had somethin' ta do with it?_"

"_Possibly. But from tha way Mary was actin'? Its almost as if this was just one of somethin' that's happened ta her!_"

The two ducked around the corner again as they saw the mayor making his way back to the apartment. Ralph looked down at Felix, his head moving towards the Nicelander. The repairman nodded, straightening his hat and belt as he stepped forward.

"Ahem, Mayor?"

Gene let out another squeak, his hand going to his chest "Young man! Don't scare me like that!"

"Duly noted." Felix said with a reassuring smile "Um, I just wanted to check up on ya guys. Make sure that everythin' is workin' an' you're not too tired or somethin'? I mean, after what ya did this mornin', ya sure look like ya could use a break or somethin'!"

"A break? Who has time for a break! We have a job to do!" Gene said as powerfully as he could "What Nicelander lays down on the job?"

"Hafta give ya points for enthusiasm…." snickered Ralph "But c'mon. Don't work yourself to death over this stuff. It's just some stupid prank, there's no need to fall apart because of it."

"Young man, you should know good and well what happens when ONE piece of this game goes missing or falls apart!" Gene stated crankily "If anyone notices ONE thing off, its game over for all of us and-!"

"AAAAAND!" Felix said teasingly, almost as if he were talking to Gene like a child "An' it would be BEST if ya an' tha others NOT worry an' let ME an' Ralph take care of this, okay?"

"But Felix-!"

"Go outside Gene! Take in some fresh air an' relax!" the repairman said, pushing the chubby man into the elevator.

"I-!"

And on those parting words, the doors closed as the elevator carried the man down to the first floor.

"Whew, glad he didn't explode on us!" Felix chuckled.

"So ya think this is worth reportin'?" asked Ralph.

"Ya know what? I think we can take care of this on our own…." Said Felix, tossing the bags in the trash "I mean, stuff like this happens all the time an' I'll make sure ta be extra vigilant ta make sure no one else comes here!"

"You're takin' on an awful lot for one person." said Ralph in concern "Ya do so much already, yet ya tell US not ta stress ourselves!"

"Hey, its what I do!" the repairman smiled proudly "I'm always willin' ta throw in my hat ta keep ya guys safe an' happy!"

Ralph couldn't help but smile, partly annoyed by Felix's sugar-sweet cheerfulness but also glad; glad because he did feel assured by the repairman's words. Sure, Felix was a little guy and could bite off more than he could chew but all that determination was enough to take away some of the worry that was going through Ralph's head.

Ah, maybe he was right. Maybe he was worrying too much.

"Neeeh, c'mon ya dork." The wrecker chuckled "We might have some gamers comin' up!"

Thankfully, not much was spoken of the incident throughout the day and the Nicelanders were able to pick themselves up and continue on as usual. It just came and went like any other day and by nightfall, things were normal once more.

"So ya guys wanna go out?" asked Lucy "After everything today, I could TOTALLY go for a treat!"

"Sure, why not?" Don said, adjusting his cap.

"To Tapper's then?" said Gene, grinning.

"TO TAPPER'S!"

It didn't take long for the invite to get passed around the game and soon everyone in Niceland headed out for another round at the familiar bar. Making their way to the station, the little people were unaware they were being watched from afar, a few other characters turning as the lot made their way closer to the other games.

"Are ya sure this is a good idea?" asked one voice.

"Sure, I'm sure!" said the second "What makes ya doubt me?"

"Look, I can understand why you're so mad but if we keep doin' this, we're gonna get caught!"

"Mayeb YOU will if ya don't keep your booties up with mine!"

"Urgh, why are we doin' this anyway?" asked a third voice "This all seems stupid."

"Ya didn't think this was stupid tha first time we did this! Who was tha one throwin' ta her hearts content? Who was tha one askin' me for more rolls ta throw?"

"Okay, okay! But why are we doin' this?"

"For fun of course!"

"I don't think this is so fun…." Said the fourth voice meekly "I agree with him! What if we get caught!"

"Guys, come ON. You're not gonna get caught. An' 'sides….don't ya think this is fittin' for these guys?

"Weell….you're still goin' on a buncha gossip! How do ya now it even REAL?"

"Would ya put it past 'em?! After all, they're the ones who left Ralph in the dump for all those years! I'm sure they would try it again if they had the chance!"

"And all of this came from two people ya heard in the bathroom?"

"Guys! AURG! Are ya gonna help me or not?!"

"Wow, ya really seem inta this!"

"Why SHOULDN'T I be?!" the first voice said "These guys think they can do this ta Ralph? Well, let's see if they change their minds after this…."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six- Refusal

_"So did you hear?"_

_"No way!"_

_"I can't believe that's goin' on now!"_

There is something unique and interesting about rumors. It's so interesting how a few small words can grow over time, developing a life of its own when the right amount of energy is added to the mix. A little story that has no weight or even truth can suddenly become seen as true if one were to help it along by adding a few 'facts' of their own.

A little twist here, a little turn there, some added spice to really set things up!

All a rumor needs is the right additions and it can soon take on great proportions.

But at what cost?

It had been a day since the first incident at Niceland and to the residences' relief it seemed that there were no signs of repeat of the toilet paper prank. Things ran smoothly in the game as usual.

Ralph comes in, says his lines.

Gene is thrown.

The Nicelanders called for Felix.

So on and so forth.

The Nicelanders were busy during the course of the entire game, running up and down the halls to make sure that players would be able to see their pies and direct Felix towards them. Everything in the game was running like a well-oiled clock and for everyone in the apartment, life couldn't have been better.

"Okay kids, we have half an hour before the place closes!" said Litwak, starting to clean up around the games.

As usual, there was quite a crowd near Fix-it-Felix Jr. Since the addition of the bonus stage game play was at a fever pitch, players flocking in day in and day out to try to beat the newest high score. With only half an hour left, the players played even harder than before, Felix rushing up and down the building like a whirlwind which meant that more pies had to be put out than normal.

"I don't know if I can keep up!" panted Mary, though she did so with a smile. While she wasn't used to such speed, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she enjoyed the new rush.

She welcomed the change, especially when she started to see how much closer it was bringing everyone together. She didn't mind having to run around more than normal or that her daily pie baking had to be increased; just so long as she was doing her part and enjoying herself, Mary was in heaven.

"THREE, TWO, ONE!"

***BOOM!***

The bomb went off but to the player's dismay, it went off a little too close to Felix, knocking the man off the side of the building.

"Aw man!" shouted the player "Just when I was about to beat the top score too!"

"Well, sorry. But you'll have to try next time!" Litwak said, guiding the players out of the building. After another hour of cleaning up, Litwak himself left, turning out the light and locking the place up.

Silence.

A few ticks on the clock and then…

"All clear!"

"Quitin' time!" Felix sang as he and the other Nicelanders filed off the roof!

Another glorious day called for a night on the town and after making sure that the apartments were neat and tidy, the whole troupe of Niceland residence prepared to head out.

All except for two.

"Well, it happened again…" Mary sighed to herself, looking over at the mountain of leftover pies that were in her kitchen.

Being a pastry master did come with a SLIGHT downfall, if one would consider forgetting just how many pies one makes and then having have much left over a downfall.

Mary shook her head, scolding herself "You always do this…." The woman said "Ah well, more to share then!"

Mary began to file her way through the pies, making sure to separate the ones that simply gave Felix points from the ones that gave him his signature TURBO POWER.

The Nicelander knew what would happen if someone else were to eat one of those pies. She knew from EXPERIENCE.

Painful, HORRIBLE experience.

Once everything was loaded, Mary prepared to walk out the door but as soon as she turned the knob….

"OH!" said the baker.

"AH!" said a little man in blue.

Gene and Mary looked at each other for a moment or two, Gene suddenly turning away and blushing like mad.

"Um, good to see that you're still here!" he said bashfully. Mary was tickled by how Gene was acting and decided to tease him a little.

"Why **_YES!_** I had all these pies prepared just for **_YOU!_******All EIGHTY of them!"

Gene gave Mary a shocked look as he laid eyes upon all the pies in the room. It was well known that Gene was one to overindulge at times but this was ridiculous!

"UH. Thanks for the thought?"

"Oh, I'm just toying, I'm just toying." the woman snickered, handing Gene a box "Come on. I want to give these out to the neighbors."

"You mean I don't get pie? Not even one slice of blueberry?" Gene pouted.

"You're going to turn into pie if you keep sneaking bites!" the woman laughed again, pinching Gene on the cheek "I have a pie ready just for you but can you at least save it for tomorrow? At least ONE time, dear?"

The two Nicelanders made their over to little corner of apartments near the eastside of the game, the residence more than happy to receive a pie and on the other end, Mary was happy herself. In fact, EVERYONE enjoyed the trade-off of pies. Standing behind his beloved, Gene smiled as he began to think just how lucky everyone in the game was.

"_Heh, I've never seen her smile so much…._" The man thought to himself.

"Oh, Gene?"

The mayor turned, looking over at the small woman "Yes?"

"Why don't we take some of these pies to a few other games?" Mary smiled, holding a box in her hands.

"A few other games?" asked the man "You're telling me you made THAT many?"

"Apparently, I did!" the woman said "As I stated before, what good would it be to waste them? I know a few places that could use some pies!"

"Well, if you say so…." The mayor replied, a little pout on his face "_But I wish you could have let me take a few…._"

"I heard that!"

After getting onto the trolley, the two Nicelanders found themselves in the middle of Game Central Station once more. With the work day being over the entire place was packed, characters walking every which way to find something to occupy the night. Gene moved closer to Mary, feeling a bit intimidated by the rush of characters around them.

"_Are you sure this was a good idea? Maybe we should have asked Felix to accompany us._" Gene whispered, his hand reaching for Mary's nervously.

"Nonsense, dear." The little woman retorted "We can't have Felix babysitting us and besides, we can handle things on our own!"

A character towered over the two, a shadow falling over them. Mary suddenly found herself moving back and grabbing onto Gene's hand without thinking. The man blushed brightly but he knew the woman's motives for doing so, quickly moving in front of her as if he were trying to shield her from any sudden moves the character might have made towards them.

"Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine!" the woman said brightly, smiling "Silly of me…getting that worked up over someone who wasn't going to do a thing to us!"

"Hmmph. Right…." mumbled Gene "Like always I guess?"

The two made their way to the station, Mary looking over to one of the newly plugged in games.

"Oh, let's have a stop here!" the woman said.

Gene looked about cautiously. He was a little uncertain but if it made Mary happy….

"Hello there!" the Nicelander said brightly "Welcome to Litwak's! My name is Nicelander Mary, one of the Nicelanders from Fix-it-Felix Jr.!"

The woman reached down and pulled a pie from her box, the thing still piping hot and smelling of sweet strawberries.

"I hope you'll take this pie as a welcoming present! There's more if you come and visit us!"

The characters looked at each other and then returned their gaze down to the tiny characters before them. Mary continued to smile but Gene knew something was up; he didn't like how long it was taking the others to respond to them but after learning his lesson from speaking out of turn, he bit his tongue and smiled.

"Nicelanders ya say?" said the first character "I think I heard of ya…."

"Oh, ya-I mean- YOU have?" Mary smiled.

"Yeah, we have….." said the second "INTERESTIN' things!"

Gene moved closer to Mary again; the sudden tone shift was only confirming his suspicions and fears and he knew it would be best to part ways as fast as they could.

"W-well, I hope one of those things was about pie…." Mary said, her voice dropping a bit "I mean, we are always ready to share with all our neighbors and-!"

"Why in the world would we take **_NICELANDER_** pie?" the third figure said, rolling its eyes.

"_Pardon?_" Mary blinked.

"Heh, yeah. Filled with bugs an' other things!" cackled the fourth "Doesn't sound like my idea of a tasty treat!"

Mary looked shocked by the accusation, taking the pie back "Bugs? Who in the world said our pies were filled with BUGS?"

The larger characters had to share a little snicker at Mary's reaction, seeing such a tiny woman getting mad.

"Sorry, Eggheads but I think we'll pass." The apparent leader of the gang said "I wanna live out a nice long life in this here arcade. I don't need it shortened by takin' in some weird pie!"

By now, Mary was clearly flustered but she was doing a steady job of keeping herself calm. It had been a while since someone had said such things about her cooking and to her, it was something she wasn't going to take lightly.

But with the way things had gone….

"I can assure you that I only use the best in my pastries!" Mary blurted out, trying her best to appear solid before the group "I have no idea where you got the idea in your head that I would try to CONTAMINATE my work but-!"

"Sorry, we made up our minds…." The leader once again chuckled "Why don't ya try handin' out those pies ta someone who likes TRASH. Maybe one of those slime monsters or somethin'?"

"Heh, nice."

Gene could see that things weren't getting any better and before he knew what he was doing he jumped in.

"Now see here! That is no way to talk to a woman!"

"Oh, you're right!" the main creature said again "Lemme go back!"

The thing stood up, clearing his throat before bending over to look at the two Nicelanders eye to eye.

"I'm sorry MA'AM. But I would rather eat DIRT than CONSUME such a pastry as yours!"

Gene flushed red with anger as he felt the sudden urge to leap up and SLAP the creature but Mary suddenly pulled him back as if she knew what he were about to do.

"Dear, let's go!"

"But they said-!"

"Forget it!" the woman said in anger "If they don't want pie, so be it. That's their issue, we don't have to waste our time getting into it."

The mayor could feel himself being dragged away but the cackling of the characters behind him only made his blood boil even more. He took a few breaths to calm himself down but the night was already ruined for him. No one insults Mary's pie!

"What BRUTES!" the mayor spat, Mary still pulling him away "I've never seen such a display of arrogance or rudeness in my life!"

"Forget it, Gene…" the Nicelander in pink said, her voice surprisingly rough "We have other neighbors here. They'll GLADLY take pie if they don't want it."

But as they were soon to find out….

"Nah, I don't want your pie….ma'am." said a little bird character.

"But why not?" Mary said in surprise. The little bird looked down and around, almost as if it were too ashamed to tell the truth.

"S-Sorry ma'am but I just don't have the stomach for pies today. M-Maybe next time?"

"O-oh, alright…" the Nicelander said in voice that sounded as if her heart had just broken "N-next time?"

Next time? It seemed that was the response that EVERYONE gave the two. Both Mary and Gene walked throughout the vast arcade, asking if anyone would like their pies but one by one they were turned down. Some people looked upset when they refused a pie but others looked angry, angry for no apparent reason. Mary wasn't used to such rejection not only for her pie but the REACTIONS she was given.

The ones who looked unsure? They made her just as confused but what scared her were the people who looked ANGRY, as if Mary had done something to them. Even though their words were little, the looks in their eyes showed their true intentions. It scared the Nicelander, the woman having never seen such hostility in a long time.

_A VERY long time._

After so many trips, the two Nicelanders rested on a bench, exhausted from running around all night and yet, they still had armloads of pies left.

"NOW can I have them?" Gene said in a tired voice, wiping his brow.

"I just don't understand it…." Mary said in a hollow voice "Why don't they want my pie? Why?"

"Oh, Mary. Don't let them bother you…." Gene said in an attempt to reassure the woman but he could tell it was doing little to soothe her.

"Did you see the way they looked at me? At US?" the woman began "They looked as if they HATED us."

"I-I'm sure it was nothing….Maybe they all had rough work days or-!"

"Did we do something? Did **_I_** do something?" the woman said, looking over at Gene with worried eyes "Dear, what is going on?"

"I-I don't know…." Gene said, taking Mary's hand into his own though he did so nervously "But don't you worry! This isn't your fault! Not at all!"

"While I do appreciate your words of encouragement….I don't think it's that simple." Mary replied, looking down at her pies "Honey, I think-!"

"HEY! MS. MARY!"

The two jolted, looking over at a familiar fighting game and a small school girl waving her arms about.

"Ms. Sakura?"

"Hey, over here!"

The two Nicelanders jumped off the benches and walked over to the game, though it was easy to see how they carried themselves they were a tad cautious.

"Oh, please tell me you're not here to berate us too…" Gene said with a moan, Mary punching him in the arm afterwards.

"What? No!" the girl said "Just saw ya with all your pies. Mind if we take 'em off your hands?"

"Oh, thank **_GOODNESS!_**" Mary called loudly, her voice echoing throughout the station. She clamped her hand over her mouth once she realized that everyone was looking at her, her cheeks turning pinker than ever.

"I mean, you're welcome to as many as you want! Please, eat! Eat!"

It didn't take long for a collection of fighters to help themselves to the pie which meant that the two Nicelanders were returning empty handed for the night, something they both welcomed. Parting ways with a wave and a smile, Mary and Gene went on their way.

"Man, didn't think we'd score pies like this tonight!" said Ken "Usually the best are picked over by the time they get down to our game. I wonder what's up."

"Ya think it has somethin' ta do with tha news I heard?" said DJ, picking through his pie as if he were searching for something within the filling.

"News? What news?"

"Apparently the key to Nicelander pie is a bunch'a awful gunk."

"Gunk?" asked Chun-Li "Like WHAT?"

"Leftover bits of garbage, a bunch'a stuff they just happen ta find around their homes? Stuff like that!"

"An' who said that?" the fighter retorted, looking a little bothered.

"Can't nail a source. Its just somethin' that's been goin' round all day."

Ken looked down at this pie, inspecting it a bit. The man simply shrugged, going in for more "Then call it pie alchemy because this is the best gunk pie I've ever eaten."

* * *

"You want to go home?" asked Mary as she staggered with Gene towards their game, feeling exhausted.

"Believe it or not, no…." the man said, sounding a might annoyed "I'm tired, yes. But at the same time I don't want to spend the rest of the evening at home alone."

Mary looked over at Gene, the man turned and unable to see the look on her face.

Gene was worried about being ALONE? Mary could have easily fixed that if he wanted her to!

In fact, **_SHE_** wanted to!

"Sure, if you want to." Mary sighed, turning around and readying herself to follow Gene wherever the man went but upon seeing her reaction, the man stopped.

"Hold on a moment, I can take you home if you're tired!"

"But dear, I don't want to leave you to go somewhere by yourself. What type of neighbor would I be to do that?"

"The others are out here, I'm sure I can catch up with them!" Gene insisted, surprised to find that he was trying to get Mary home instead of making her spend the night on the town with him "Besides, I don't know what I would do if I were to allow you to-!"

"Gene, Gene!" Mary said, putting a finger to his lips "It's okay! I can handle it!"

Mary saw Gene turning red before, a little giggle escaping her.

"Look, how about we just get a float at Tapper's? THEN we can go home?"

"Th-th-that sounds LOVELY, d-dear!" Gene said, his voice breaking in the midst of his words.

The little mayor was on cloud nine as Mary took his hand and led him to the familiar bar. As expected, the place was packed, not helped by the fact that the Bad Anon group was once again gathered around. The group brought out the karaoke machine once more so the entire establishment was filled with all sorts of off-key singing, the very sound not helping Gene in how he felt at the moment.

"Maybe my float should come with a side of Advil or something…."

"Gene, hush!"

The two made their way to their seats, not noticing four characters who were already there.

"Man, another great day!" Felix sang, taking a rather happy gulp from his mug "I haven't seen a flow of players this huge since that summer in ninety-two? 'Member that Ralph?"

"Do I ever…." The wrecker said to himself, rolling his eyes and smiling "I don't think I've EVER been thrown off the roof so many times in my life!"

"Yeah but things are different now, aren't they?" Vanellope grinned.

"How so, lil-bit?"

"I mean, now with that bonus-stage, ya don't hafta worry about bein' thrown off the buildin'!"

"Oh, it's not that bad…" Ralph said "I mean, I don't mind bein' thrown off anymore. It's part of my job so why complain?"

"Didn't ya used ta hate it though?" the girl asked with a puzzled look, her eyes going right into Ralph "I mean, I would hate to-!"

"Kid, it's okay now…" the man said in a calm tone "'Sides, think of it. If I hadn't been tired of getting' mud in my mouth after so many years, I don't think I would have gotten upset enough to leave….and finally met ya."

The girl sat quietly at the bar, grinning from ear to ear as she took a sip of her root beer. She was trying to hide it. She was trying to hide it so bad but she LOVED hearing those words. Something about them made the little racer feel so loved and who doesn't like to feel loved?

"Hey, maybe I should have a crack at a song or two!" said Felix, getting up.

"Oh no, the bubbles have gone to his head, Sarge. Ya better stop him!" said Vanellope, not mentioning a thing about her own tone-deaf vocals.

"Stop him?" the marine laughed to herself "Maybe I should JOIN him!"

"Oh NOOOOOOOOOO! Everyone grab some ear-plugs and brace for impact!" the racer said, diving under the bar.

"Ralph?"

The wrecker turned around, seeing Mary walking up to him, a smile forming on his face.

"Hello there, Ms. Mary. How are you this evening?"

Mary let out a small sigh, shaking her head "It's fine dear, as fine as it's going to get."

"Is everythin' alright?" the man asked, a little concerned about the sudden turn "Ya look like you've been dragged from one end of tha station to the other!"

"Close…" the woman said with a sly smile "VERY close. Gene and I are just here to order something to go. We just didn't expect to run into everyone here!"

_Why are you here? Can't you go somewhere else?_

"Hey, Tapper's is always doin' somethin' new! No one would want to miss that!"

_Why are you talkin' ta Ralph as if everything is normal? _

"Well, we wish we could stay for that but I think it would be best if we left. Knowing our luck, something will come up and I'll have to drag Gene's butt back to Niceland!"

_Don't hide behind that smile. I know what you're plannin'. You're not gonna get away with it. I promise ya you're not!_

"Well, just be safe okay?"

"Don't worry dear. We will be…."

Ralph gave Mary a little wave before realizing that Vanellope was still hiding under the bar. He looked down, seeing the girl sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her face as if someone had said the most hurtful thing to her.

"Nelly? Somethin' wrong?"

The girl looked up, noticing the look of worry on the wrecker's face "Hmm? Oh, I-I'm okay."

"Ya don't look okay…." Ralph said as he reached down and pulled Vanellope from under the bar, placing her back on her chair "Somethin' happen today? Ya know ya can always talk ta me about it."

Vanellope said nothing but the anger and questions inside of her were starting to chip away at her very code. She looked around, seeing that Gene and Mary had gone and as she looked near the karaoke bar it seemed that Felix and Calhoun had parted ways as well.

Good, she wanted to be as honest as she could.

"Ralph?" the girl asked, a serious tone in her voice "Why do you trust the Nicelanders?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven – Writing on the Wall

"She asked me why I trust them…." Ralph sighed as he sat back in his chair.

"I guess it's normal for a kid to ask something like that…." said Clyde "Your ability to form a relationship with your neighbors after all this time is wonderful but in the end, what did you tell HER?"

"I really couldn't get my words out right…" the wrecker said "I tried to explain that while I'm still warming up to 'em, I can really see they want to work together now. I mean, things are really rollin' now! Not like they were back when we were first plugged in!"

"Yes, you told us about that." The orange ghost said "I'm curious myself as to what really sparked off your tension between yourself and the Nicelanders. You said it didn't happen the first day you arrived here."

"Not at all!" Ralph nodded "I mean, when we first came here, we were still getting' used ta things but as far as I know, no one HATED each other. Not even me and Gene up until…."

Ralph stopped, thinking back for a moment. He had thirty years of memories to bring up and with all the things that had happened to him over the past three decades there was a lot to comb through. He crossed his legs, putting a hand to his chin.

_"Y'now somethin'….."_

"Yes?"

"I DO remember ONE night…."

"And?"

That night, that night at Tapper's.

He was starting to get used to the arcade life.

He was warming up to a few people here and there.

And then….

And then….

_HA! Useless lil chunkers!_

_Big-fat dope!_

_Wanna-be Donkey Kong!_

_It's a game full of tha biggest losers anyone can chuck a quarter into!_

Ralph stopped, realizing what he was about to say. The thought that had sprouted from the back of his head did seem to put together the mystery of why he and the others in his game had been so sour to each out for so long, but the realization to the fact that it was so obvious now made the man cringe.

He was embarrassed, so much so that he didn't know if he could actually face up with his fellow anons with the truth.

It couldn't have been that easy but there it was. Ralph had remembered the flint that had started his fight with his neighbors and the more he thought about it, the more painful it became.

"Ya know what…." The man said "It was somethin' else. Just forget it."

"Ya sure, Ralph?" asked a zombie girl "We're always hear to lend an ear. Sometimes, LITERALLY in my case."

"No, no. It's fine!" the man said, forcing a grin "Just somethin' I got mixed up…."

The meeting seemed to go on a lot slower than usual that day, Ralph sitting to himself and thinking about those memories from so long ago.

_I should have seen that. I really should have. It was right there in front of me yet I blamed myself and them for all of it. It was right there. It was RIGHT THERE._

"Ralph?" Bowser asked, putting a hand on the wrecker's shoulder. Ralph gasped, looking over at the huge Koopa.

"Oh! Sorry! I wasn't dozin' off, trust me!"

"Whatever this thing is, it's really eatin' ya up inside, I can tell…."

"Right." Ralph moaned, looking down at the floor.

The meeting had broken off for the night and once more they were headed to Tapper's to celebrate the night. The other characters quickly left the room but Ralph and Bowser stayed behind, the two behemoths slowly following the others.

"Hey Bowser? 'Member that thing ya said a few nights ago, 'bout how some other characters were pickin' on your Troopas?"

"Yeah?"

Ralph rubbed the back of his neck "Ya know, I really didn't think too much into it but….but I understand what you're talkin' about."

"How so?" the huge monster asked as he looked at Ralph.

The wrecker sighed heavily "I knew I should have said somethin' before but….I remember it."

"You remember what?"

"That night." Ralph said "That night everything just went south for us. It had all the makin's of that disaster ya talked about. An' if that weren't bad enough, tha one person who started it all? He…."

"Ralph….what happened?" Bowser asked, giving Ralph a trusting eye.

Ralph was ready to tell the monster the truth when suddenly…

*RIIIIIIING!*

The two turned around, hearing the phone on the meeting room go off. Ralph walked over and picked up the receiver, a little confused that someone would be calling in so late.

"Hello?"

"_RALPH?!_"

"Felix?" the man said, worry flooding his mind once he heard the tone of the repairman's voice "Felix, what's wrong? You sound AWFUL!"

"_Just get down here! We have a bit of a problem!_"

"A problem?" the wrecker said, his brows furrowing "What KIND of-!?"

"_Just get down here NOW!_"

Ralph didn't have to be told another time that something terrible had happened to his home and without hesitating for a second, the man rushed off, nearly jumping head first into the trolley and not stopping for a moment as he rushed to his game. From the outside, things looked fine but a small crowd of people began to gather their way towards the entrance.

"Did ya see what was inside?" said one.

"Pffft, did I ever!" said another, laughing at something Ralph could only dread to see "Funniest thing I've seen in a while!"

"Funny?" Ralph thought to himself. What in the world could Felix get so worked up about that the others deemed as funny? Ralph didn't even stop to think, hurrying off to the inside of the game and once he stepped foot on the familiar checkerboard lawn.

"Holy-!"

A mess.

Everything was a complete and total mess.

The previous prank now looked like CHILD'S PLAY compared to what was covering Niceland now.

Things were overturned, pies were strewn about and smashed and even worse…

_LOSERLANDERS!_

_DOWN WITH NICELANDERS!_

_RALPH STAY! NICELANDERS GO!_

The man gasped in horror at the lines scrawled out on the bricks of the building, his jaw dropping to the ground.

"Is THIS what happens when I'm not here?! I was only gone for an HOUR!"

The man looked down, the terrified Nicelanders chittering amongst themselves as they looked at the words that had been laid out before them. Whoever or whatever had come into the game wanted to make sure that EVERYONE got the message loud and clear.

"Oh, who would do such a thing?" Meg shivered.

"I-is there someone out there that really thinks this?" asked Tony.

"It's happening again! Why is this happening AGAIN?!" shouted Roy.

Ralph looked around at his neighbors; the notion of 'AGAIN' only confirmed his fear further.

It was just like what happened nearly thirty years ago, except the perpetrator in those incidents was long gone now. Whoever THIS was….

"When did this happen?" Ralph asked in an angry voice "Did anyone see anything?"

Nel shook her head "I guess whoever did this waited till we were all out for the night, big guy! How else could they have snuck in without us noticing?"

Ralph got another look at the writing on the wall as well as the mess. It was going to yet another night of cleaning up but that wasn't the thing that bothered him the most.

The wrecker turned, finally getting a glimpse of Mary and Gene who were standing off by the side, away from anyone else to even notice them. Ralph couldn't make out what they were saying but he could tell just by the way Mary was struggling to talk to Gene, the mayor was FURIOUS. His back was turned towards Ralph but he could see his hands shaking, not in fear or worry, but in ANGER. Mary on the other hand looked beside herself as she attempted to bring the little man in blue down to a level of calmness that prevented him from going off but the man turned, finally showing Ralph just how ENRAGED he was.

Ralph had to take a step back when he saw Gene's face. He never knew it was POSSIBLE for a Nicelander to get THAT upset.

"So what do we do now, Gene?" asked Norwood.

"We clean up…." The man replied, his voice deep.

"That's all? What about contactin' Surge or-!"

"I'll do it later…." The man said "Let's just…let's just get this **_CRAP_** up before game day tomorrow, okay?"

"Sir, lemme take things up with Surge, alright!" said Felix, trying his all to lighten the mood "He'll listen ta me! Don't worry about it!"

Gene gave Felix a look of pure hatred but it quickly began to fade. Something had been struck from Felix's words but Gene wasn't going to let him find out.

"Th-thank you, young man…" the mayor said, his voice shaking as he tried to calm himself down "You always know how to handle things…."

The mayor then walked off, the other Nicelanders following him as they prepared to dive into the task of cleaning up their home yet again.

"Man, what tha H is goin' on here?" Felix asked.

Ralph said nothing for a moment, his eyes still focused on the words that were scrawled on the building.

In all his years of working, he had NEVER seen such things done to te building and even with the destruction that he did on a daily basis, those words were much more damaging that what HE did. It only confirmed his greatest fears; that the past was starting to come back but this time it couldn't have come at a worse time. Ralph shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

"Why don't ya go catch up with Surge? See if he saw anythin' weird goin' through here…" the wrecker said "I'll try ta help tha others with this….MESS."

Felix nodded, walking off towards the trolley "I won't take too long. I'll be back soon enough ta help!"

"Y-yeah…." Ralph said, walking to the building "Y-ya do that…."

Back inside the apartments, Mary began filling a bucket with water Gene rummaging through her cleaning closet for supplies.

"Goodness, who in the world has their mind set on doing things like this?!"

Gene said nothing, pretending to look for something in an effort to buy more time to calm down. While the others seemed to remain clueless as to what was happening to their home, the little mayor knew better. This was nothing new, nothing new at all but either way it didn't make what he saw any less painful.

"_Do they really think they can get away with this?_" the man thought to himself, his face burning red "_You're taking advantage of the situation. I know you are. That's your motive; you have us in what you think is a corner and you'll use any and all-!_"

"GENE!"

The man squeaked as he turned back, seeing Mary looking at him with a concerned look "Dear, what in the world is wrong with you?!"

Gene looked around for a second but he knew he was trapped. He sighed, walking over to the little pie maker and taking her hand.

"I promised you I wouldn't allow this to happen again…" the man said in a mournful tone "But I can't even do that, can I?"

"Gene, what are you-?"

Mary stopped, a hand going to her mouth as she looked over at the mayor, his defeated look more obvious than ever.

"Oh dear, don't blame yourself for THAT or for what's happening NOW!" the woman said, trying her best to reassure the man "Th-things like this are bound to happen when people-!"

"NO. NO…" the man said "Things like this SHOULDN'T happen, no matter the excuse!"

The little woman stood back, Gene's anger scaring her a bit "Honey, don't do anything rash about this, please."

"I won't…." the man panted "At least I won't try to."

"WON'T?" Mary said, her hands going to her hips.

"A person can only take so much, you know that…." The mayor growled, walking over to the sink and taking the bucket "And even with our own mistakes, there is no excuse for this."

Gene walked out the door, leaving Mary to wonder and worry if Gene's actions would get any worse if the incidents that had suddenly sprang up continued to go on. She leaned on the couch, rubbing her temples.

"Please, we don't need any more drama here. We don't!"

* * *

"Wash off, wash off!" a little figure said, scrubbing their hands raw "I didn't mean for things to go that far! I didn't mean for things to go that far!"

_Why did I have to bring those guys along? I thought they were going to help me! I thought they were just going to help me with what I wanted to do! I didn't know they were going to do that! I didn't know!_

More soap, more scrubbing. The paint wouldn't come off.

_I wanted to help a friend, that's all I was trying to do! I wanted to show them they can't do that to him, not after all he's done for them!_

Scrub, scrub, scrub…

_They're the bad ones! They're the bad guys! They're going to kick him out! They're going to leave him again! They deserve all the hate they get! They deserve it!_

A hand reached out, turning the faucet . The water came to a stop, a few droplets hitting the porcelain surface. The figure stood, looking itself in the mirror.

"I'm doin' this for him. I'm doing this for him….."

Eyes went down, looking at paint. Paint that told the truth, that showed the anger and confusion of a person who only wanted the answer.

"But it went too far. I didn't want them to write that. Not all of it….I just want to help. I just want to help."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight- The Truth Hurts

Everyone in Nicelander barely got an hours rest that night, everyone's minds filled with worry and dread of what could happen to their game next if they so much as turned an eye away. The Nicelanders were more on edge than ever before, the little people starting to spend less and less time outside their game and more and more inside, as if they truly believed that by hiding behind their doors their precious home would remain safe.

The first day, there came nothing but they still sat in their apartments.

The second day, same as the first but still, the little people remained in their homes.

On the THIRD day….

"Okay, I'm going nuts in here!" growled Mary as she threw a dish rag into the sink. She had decided to stay with the others on their tiresome vigil to protect the apartments but as far as she was concerned, she was doing nothing but rotting away in a game day in and day out.

Handing out pies was something to do but it wasn't the ONLY thing to do!

She had made up her mind; tonight she was going out and nothing was going to stop her.

She looked around for a nice evening dress, finding her favorite pill-box hat and pink pumps.

The only thing she needed was someone to go out with.

Her little lips curled into a playful grin.

"I have just the person in mind…."

Resting inside his own apartment, a book in hand, Gene sat on his favorite chair and tried his best to keep his mind in check. So far he felt as if he had done a good enough job. In fact, he had only drank HALF a bottle of vodka by himself, a miraculous feat if he did say so himself.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

The man looked up, getting up from his seat and walking over to the door. He opened it, a smile on his face.

"He-**_NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!_**"

And in a second, Mayor Nicelander Gene had been stolen away into the night.

* * *

"So how was work TODAY, Stink Breath?" Vanellope grinned.

"It was…OKAY, I guess."

"Okay? What made it OKAY?" the girl asked with big eyes.

"Nothin' excitin' really happened today. I mean, one or two players hit the bonus stages but other than that? Nothin'."

"Oh, you're killin' me big guy…." Vanellope snorted "SURLY somethin' good has been goin' on!"

"With all the insanity that's come to us, I WELCOME good. ANYTHIN' good!"

The two friends sat in silence for a while, none of them thirsty enough to take a drink from their glasses.

"Um, say…." Vanellope coughed "H-how have tha Nicelanders been treatin' ya?"

"That's the second time ya asked me that Fart-Feathers." Ralph chuckled "What's up? Why do ya wanna know this?"

"Because…" Vanellope pouted a bit "I just wanna know how my friend is doin'? Is that so much ta ask?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down there, Nelly!" the wrecker smiled "Look, if it really bothers you that much I'll be honest with ya. Things started out slow with us but they're really comin' along!"

The candy racer said nothing, her brain going back to the words of the two characters who had spoken about Ralph's impending eviction from Niceland once more. She tried to believe her friend but the more she saw his smile, the more enraged she became. Her cheeks flushed and her brows furrowed.

"Yeah. SURE. I'll take your word for it!"

Now Ralph was really confused; first the Nicelanders were acting weird and now Vanellope? Just what in the world was going on around the arcade?

"Kid, is somethin' botherin' ya?" the man asked, tapping the girl on the shoulder "This isn't like ya! What's b-?"

"How can ya be so nice?" Vanellope shouted "How can ya be so sweet ta people who HATE ya?"

"W-what are ya talkin' about?"

"What I mean is-!" Vanellope said angrily. She stopped herself, looking up at Ralph's eyes once more. She just couldn't bring herself to telling the man the truth but there was another reason she had to remind herself to pick her words carefully.

"Ralph, ya deserve better than them. Even Felix deserves better than THEM!"

Ralph felt his skin prick a bit, Vanellope's harsh words surprising him "Kiddo, ya got ta-!"

"What do they do for ya? Bake pies? That's all?" the girl growled "I have candy people who bake pies all day an' I have more repsect for 'em!"

Ralph looked around, hoping that Vanellope's words weren't heard in the crowded bar "Vanellope, that's not the point!"

"Then what is, Ralph? What IS the point?!" the girl shouted, getting angrier "You expect people who LOVED to throw ya inta tha mud ta just welcome ya back that quickly?! Ta act as if nothin' happened!"

The wrecker was more than certain now that something was up and so he took Vanellope by her arms, lifting her off her chair.

"Kid, I'm gonna ask you this once and ONLY once. What in the ARCADE has gotten inta ya?!"

Vanellope frowned at Ralph, small tears forming in her eyes. She knew there was no way she could fight off both Ralph and the dam of emotions that was starting to crumble within her, so one thing had to go.

And after thinking about it, she knew what had to give way.

"But I don't want to go here tonight!" whined a little man in blue. Mary laughed at the noise, giving Gene a little poke on the cheek.

"Why, Mr. Mayor! When has there EVER been a time when you've turned down a drink!"

Gene cleared his throat and adjusted his tie "Pl-plenty of times!" the man coughed "It's just with the way things have been going on in our game I-"

"I think it would be WONDERFUL to get out of those apartments!" Mary cut in, pulling Gene to a booth "After all, what good could come from spending our days locked up? We NEED to get out Gene, it's healthy!"

"Ya know what else is healthy?" Gene mumbled, a hand on his chin "Staying away from STRESSFUL situations and places, LIKE THIS."

"If you don't shut your mouth, I'm not getting you a brown float." Mary said calmly, flipping through the menu. Gene's face suddenly went from angry to that of a man who looked like something precious to him had been taken. He then snapped to, giving Mary a peeved look.

"**_STOP TEMPTING ME WITH FOOD, DARN IT!_**"

Mary snickered "Stop being so tempted with it then."

"You don't know what I've heard, Ralph!" Vanellope snapped, glitching her way back to her seat. Ralph glared down at the girl, finally fed up with all the secrets that were being kept from him.

"HEARD?" the man asked "What do you mean HEARD?"

Vanellope turned her head quickly, almost as if she were afraid to look her friend in the face but her heart was just breaking inside of her. She couldn't hold it back any longer.

"_They said they were gonna kick ya out…._"

"**_WHO_** did?"

"The Nicelanders!" Vanellope cried, her eyes stinging with tears that rolled down her cheeks "They were gonna kick ya out again! An' they had NO issue 'bout doin' it either!"

Ralph had to stop for a moment, a hand going to his forehead.

The Nicelanders were going to kick him out again?

"Where in the world did ya hear THIS from?" the man asked, his brow arched.

Vanellope looked down "I-I heard it from someone here, that's where."

"Someone HERE?" the man asked, finally getting wise to the girl's anger "An' just who was this SOMEONE?"

"I-I dunno Ralph but does it matter?!"

"Yes, yes it does!" the wrecker said angrily "It MATTERS because who knows whether or not someone just cooked up a story! Ya know what happens when people let lies fly like that!"

"_I-I know…_" Vanellope said sadly, looking down at the ground "But c'mon! Would ya put it past them?"

"Why can't I give them tha benefit of tha doubt?" the wrecker asked "Isn't that fair on both our parts?"

"Fair?! But Ralph-!"

"Vanellope, listen! I dunno where ya got it in your head that bathroom gossip here is tha end all of info an' considerin' how things have been goin' back at home all week, I don't need any more nonsense flung in my face, OKAY?!"

Vanellope was taken aback by just how angry Ralph was at the moment. Truly, he was willing to move past his own issues with the Nicelanders at a faster pace than Vanellope was sure of. But she just couldn't let it go, not with the way things had been spread. She didn't want to think of Ralph suffering as he had all those years ago and at the hand of people who apparently hadn't learned their lesson as to how important he was in the game.

She knew she had to be the bigger person in the situation and think things through but she looked up at Ralph again.

She wanted to help him, she wanted to protect him.

After everything he had done for HER, she wasn't about to turn on him like that.

Not like the Nicelanders.

"You're just too nice Ralph, ta everyone here."

"Vanellope…."

"I mean it. Ya put up with everyone an' ya do it with a smile."

"So do ya…." Ralph chuckled "I mean, why are ya givin' ME tha stink eye for actually lettin' tha Nicelanders breath when I could question ya all day about ya an' tha racers?"

"Weeeell….."

"See, there ya go." Ralph smiled "I know you've given THEM a chance so why get on MY case?"

"Ralph, I just don't wanna see ya hurt, that's all…." The racer said sadly "An' ya know how quick people are ta turn an' stab ya in tha back!"

"Vanellope, that won't happen!" the wrecker said "Sop just calm down an-!"

"It won't? Ya really think it WON'T?" the girl said, feeling angry again "Ya spent thirty years in a garbage dump an' it only took a near unpluggin' ta show 'em how important ya are in tha game! Who's ta say they aren't gettin' cushy ta ya an' are ready ta pull a fast one on ya!"

"Nelly, sit down!"

"An' for what? Ta feel good about THEIR roles, as if what they do is so SPECIAL? All they do is bake pies an' run around! How does that help anyone!?"

Ralph once again looked around, feeling a bit embarrassed by what was happening around him.

"Geeze, kid! Listen to yourself! Its not that important for ya ta get so upset over!"

"Ya don't think so, huh?" the girl frowned "Then tell me tha truth Ralph. Do ya think your life would be better without tha Nicelanders?"

"I don't have to answer that…." The man said gruffly "Especially since I know you're still angry about a rumor that I KNOW isn't true."

"Oh, come on! Just tell me!"

Not too far away, two Nicelanders sat oblivious to the conversation that was going on a few yards away from them. Mary looked around, noticing that no one had seemed to notice the two there.

"Well, it is busy tonight…" she said to herself "Maybe I should just go see Tapper myself."

"Dear, where are you going?" Gene asked, noticing that Mary was getting up. The woman smiled as she looked back at the mayor, waving her hand a bit.

"Don't worry, Gene. I'll be right back!"

The little woman then made her way towards the front counter, moving past other characters and making sure not to get underfoot.

"Goodness, I wonder why this place has been so packed all of sudden!"

"Look, they're my neighbors! I don't want anythin' ta happen to 'em but-!"

Mary stopped in her tracks as she heard the familiar voice "_Ralph?_"

"BUT?" Vanellope said, looking at Ralph "But WHAT?"

The tiny woman looked around, trying to see where in the arcade the voices were coming from. She pushed her way through the crowd, going off to the side of the bar, finally laying eye upon Vanellope and Ralph near the front. She smiled a bit, happy to see the two together. Perhaps they would like to join with herself and Gene for a nice get together.

"I still don't get it! How can you trust people like them?!"

Upon hearing the angry tone in the child's voice, Mary stopped. She looked up, finding that neither of them knew she was there but perhaps that was for the better. From the way both racer and wrecker looked, it would have been best if she kept herself out of the argument.

But still, the Nicelander had to know.

What was Vanellope talking about?

"Kid, this goes far back. A LOT further than you can think…." The wrecker moaned, his temples throbbing "I'm just sayin' before ya make any rash decisions or say somethin' you'll regret-!"

"_They're useless, Ralph…._"

The man stopped, a shiver going up his spine "What?"

"They're **_USELESS_**…." The girl said in a low voice "Ya can have someone else make pies for ya that wouldn't bother ya an' your life would still go on!"

"Vanellope!"

"Ya know it's true!" the girl said angrily "ANYONE can make pies! Any OBJECT can make a pie an' yet ya an' Felix put up with 'em!"

"_U-useless?_"

"Vanellope, look. I know what're you're doin' but STOP." The man said "I can understand CONCERN but you're goin' too far with this!"

"Am I Ralph?" the girl said "Or am I just tellin' tha truth that NO one here has been brave enough ta say?"

Mary slinked back into the shadows of the bar, her hands starting to shake as she feared to hear what the girl was going to say.

"You're tryin' ta sugar coat this Ralph. I wouldn't put it PAST 'em that they're plannin' on kickin' ya out, 'specially if GENE'S tha one who called orders for it!"

"_B-But we never wanted to kick him out after he-!_"

"Why do THEY get to choose so much of what goes on around tha game? I mean, do they really think makin' pies garners ANYTHIN' in this place? There are BACKGROUND characters who do nothing more than walk around in circles that have more respect for people than they do AN' they can make better pie ta boot!"

"Vanellope, **_STOP!_**"

"Wh-why should I?!" the girl said, clearly much too angry and upset to stop at this point "If they're going to disrespect ya like that, I don't care what a bunch of obsessed, useless pie-makers think! They're pies don't even taste that good!"

Mary felt as if she had been struck right in the middle in the middle of those chest with those words.

She really didn't mean it.

Did she?

Ralph placed a finger on the girl's shoulder, feeling her shaking from under his hold "Vanellope, stop. This isn't fair."

The girl turned, her anger still going strong "Don't try to cover for 'em Ralph. I know that's what you're doin'!"

"I'm NOT, its just-!"

"Then WHAT?! How can ya forgive them so fast? How can ya work with people ya know are just deadweights in your game?!"

DEADWEIGHTS?

Mary stepped back towards the wall, trying her best to remain calm with all the noise being flung against her and the rest of the Nicelanders. It was more than apparent that Vanellope was being true in her words and the more than Mary thought, maybe she was right.

Everything was starting to make sense now. The pranks? The vandalism?

Apparently, Vanellope wasn't the only one who felt this way towards the Nicelanders and it was only now since Ralph's story had gotten out that the rest of the arcade was joining in to express their true 'feelings' for the little people.

"Nicelanders?" said someone from afar "Yeah, they make better BALLS than anything else!"

Mary squeaked but made sure to keep her voice down. Even if she were hidden in the back away from the crowd, she still didn't want to be spotted, fearing the worst would happen if she were. In her sorrow, she didn't notice Ralph turning his head and glaring at the character.

"This is a private conversation…" the wrecker said "One that doesn't need any more negative input!"

"No, I wanna hear them talk…" Vanellope growled, brushing her bangs out of the way, panting a bit "I wanna prove ta ya that those Nicelanders aren't as nice as ya think!"

"So ya heard about them wantin' ta kick Ralph out too?!"

Ralph buried his face in his hands, "Oh please….if ya don't have proof than don't-!"

"I heard they were gonna put him in a cage!"

"I heard they were gonna mess with his code so he didn't remember how he saved their butts!"

"I heard-!"

"I HEARD-!"

"I HEARD-!"

Mary just wanted to scream in agony at the words that were being thrown around. She wanted to say something to speak up for herself but she knew she couldn't do it. She knew that with the way the crowd was going, there was no way they were going to even ALLOW her to get a word in.

It was their words against HERS and from the sound of things, everyone was certain that the Nicelanders were out to make life even more miserable for Ralph than had thirty years before.

And in exchange for that, they were more than ready to make life miserable for the Nicelanders.

But that wasn't the most painful thing, not by a long shot.

Mary looked back up towards the crowd, noticing the look on Vanellope's face as she and the others conversed. Those first words of anger had come from HER and what she was showing off was REAL.

Vanellope really did hate the Nicelanders.

And it was that hate that hurt so much.

Mary felt a lump forming in her throat, her eyes starting to sting. The words had done their damage and for the first time in a long time….she just wanted to go home.

She walked away, hearing the sounds of laughter from the front of the bar as everyone continued to exchange their 'colorful' words about the Nicelanders. She didn't want to hear it but it was all over.

She had been foolish enough to think that things had changed in the arcade, her optimism blinding her to the true fact that were happening around her.

"I wonder if I should just have one float tonight…." Gene said to himself, still at the booth and waiting for Mary to return. He put his menu down as he noticed the woman coming towards him but the smile that had formed on his face quickly dropped. Mary looked awful, her skin pale and her face looking as if someone had taken something from her that she held dear. Gene was on it in a second, quickly getting out of his booth and rushing over to the woman.

"Mary? Mary, are you okay?"

The woman bit her lip as she tried to force back her tears, a smiling form on her face.

"Hmm? W-what in the world would make you think otherwise?"

Something was wrong, HORRIBLY wrong.

Gene could tell by Mary's voice and the fact that she wasn't even looking at him that something had happened and the only thing he wanted to know was WHAT. His brows furrowed as he moved closer to the woman.

"Mary, you know you can tell me anything! I'm here!"

The woman waved a hand weakly in front of the man "Oh, no, no, no! I don't want to bother you with anything dear! It's just…"

"What? **_WHAT?!_**"

"_I just…._" The woman paused again, her smile starting to waver as a tear rolled down her right cheek. Gene felt breathless, his fears confirmed.

"Dear. What happened?"

"_Gene, I just want to go home…._" The woman meeped weakly "_I just want to go home and…._"

She gave Gene a single look, the mask of strength she had tried to put up finally breaking, the woman looking heartbroken at the man. Gene shook his head, aghast at the way Mary was looking at him.

"Dear!"

Without saying a single word Mary finally broke down and pushed herself away from Gene, not even realizing that she had left her coat and handbag in the booth as she left. Gene was just ASTOUNDED by what he saw. It had been YEARS since Mary had parted ways from anywhere in tears like that and the last time that happened….

Disaster.

Gene tried to think of what to do but he was getting much too angry to think straight. He wanted to THROTTLE whoever made Mary cry, his hands already aching to clutch themselves around the throat of the hapless character. He growled, reaching down and grabbing the woman's articles angrily as he made his way up to the front of the bar.

"When I find out who-!"

"What good is pie baking ANYWAY?" said a familiar high-pitched voice.

Gene stopped, looking over to see Ralph and Vanellope at the front of the bar, several other characters surrounding them, laughing it up like there was no tomorrow. Gene was starting to feel a bit crushed underfoot from the larger characters but he managed to squeeze his way through though he still went unnoticed by those at the front of the bar.

"I heard that they don't even make their own pie!" laughed a character "It's all frozen or some junk!"

"Oh, so that pink one? ONE of the pink ones anyway….she's lying through her teeth about bein' such a great baker!"

The pink one?

Baker?

MARY?

Gene's eyes widened as he looked at the two, frozen in place as their words continued to flood the area.

"Pfft, why doesn't Felix fire tha lot of 'em all for what they did ta Ralph? Prop up some cardboard an' put a pie there! No one is gonna notice tha difference or even miss 'em!"

"Guys, please!" Ralph said, getting noticeably fed up of the words being exchanged "I just find it funny that with all tha talk ya gave me about being proud of MY job, ya suddenly feel NOW of all times ta go back on your words?!"

"It's not just about that…." Vanellope said "It's about whether or not they are makin' YOUR life any better an' from what I've seen, they're not!"

"Ya've only known 'em for HOW long, kiddo?" Ralph grumped.

"I've seen enough ta tell me that Gene's a jerk an' tha rest of them are so inta themselves they follow his orders just ta mess with ya!"

"Kid, that's not how things are workin' anymore!"

"I just wish ya wudda taken my offer up the FIRST time, big guy…" Vanellope said in a grim voice "If it weren't for Felix bein' such a cool guy, I'd say LEAVE 'em. Leave those useless, pie-makers an' do somethin' better with your life!"

Ralph looked around, noticing just how upset Vanellope was but also how everyone else that had gathered around seemed to agree with her and ENJOYING it as well. The little racer had everyone's ears and it disturbed Ralph to find himself in the middle of an argument that felt like he could say nothing in to give his side of the conversation.

"Yeah! You an' Felix carry tha game! Leave the Nicelanders behind!"

"Ya mean, LOSERLANDERS?"

Ralph looked up; LOSERLANDERS?

Wasn't that the very thing written on the building a few nights ago?

"Hah, good one!"

The wrecker felt trapped, the voice starting to muddle themselves together as he struggled to find something to say to Vanellope and everyone else but at this point, would it even matter?

The kid just wanted the best for Ralph, RIGHT?

But did she have to do it in such a way that was now going against everything the man stood for? He already knew what it felt like to be unwanted and ignored, but why was everyone around him so quick to throw those feelings on someone else?

"Guys-"

"A-HEM."

The man turned, his blood running cold once he saw none other than GENE looking up at him. Had he not been able to catch himself a second before, Ralph would have just SCREAMED at the sight but he remained calm, his fingers nervously drumming on the counter of the bar.

"O-Oh hello Gene!"

Gene said nothing but Ralph could tell by the creepy smile on his face that things were only starting to go downhill.

"_Aw, CRAP._" The wrecker thought "_He was here the entire time?_"

"Ya guys havin' a good time?" Gene said, his voice a little rough though his big smile was still plastered on his face. Vanellope moved forward, shooting the man a peeved look.

"Yeah. We're FINE, MAYOR."

"Good…" the Nicelander said, clutching tighter onto Mary's belongs "It seems that MARY forgot some things here before we left. I just wanted to make sure no one took them!"

Ralph paled; MARY was there too?!

"_Oh-ho, PROGRAMMERS!_"

"I hope you two don't have too much fun tonight…" Gene continued, still looking at the two with hollow eyes "We ALL have work to do! Wouldn't want to feel USELESS in our duties would we?"

Ralph felt as if the air were being sucked from him in that split second.

**USELESS.**

That single word.

Gene WAS there and even worse, Mary had been there as well.

All the words, all the insults. BOTH Nicelanders had heard them but the only question was why Gene was by himself if Mary had accompanied him.

Had she….had she left? Had she told Gene of the conversation, only to let the man see for himself what was actually happening?

Ralph wanted to say something, he tried to say something but his throat felt dry. His fingers began to shake.

He was caught and he just didn't know what to do.

Gene said nothing, still smiling up at the two but the bitterness of his tone showed just how angry he was.

"Well, I bid you two goodnight!" the little man said "Be safe when you come home!"

"Y-Yes, we will…." Ralph shook, waving the man off. Ralph could not take his eyes off the Nicelander as he exited the establishment, fearing that something would happen if he so much as dropped his eyes for even a split second. His nerves began to calm once Gene was gone but then a new wave of worry hit the man.

It was only a matter of time before Ralph had to return home.

And who knew what was going to be in store for him once he set foot back in Niceland.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine –Tears

Gene rode the trolley by himself but at this point in the night, he didn't care.

He WANTED to be alone.

He needed the silence and the stillness to help him calm down and to think about what just happened to both he and Mary in the bar. To say the man was FURIOUS was an understatement.

All sorts of terrible things and thoughts were going through the mayor's mind as he rode closer and closer to Niceland, his fingers clutching tightly onto Mary's coat and bag.

How could someone say such things and think they could get away with it? How could ANY expect someone to just sit back and take those words?

The more he thought, the harder his heart began to pound inside his chest in anger, the little man surprised that no one could hear it beating from within.

The trolley came to a stop outside the apartments but Gene felt that he couldn't get out, not yet anyway. He needed to calm down, he needed to let his anger subside before he allowed himself to walk into the building.

Of all the times Gene had let his temper get the better of him, this was a time he was trying to work AGAINST it. He had already heard enough from the patrons at the bar, he didn't need to hear the same from his NEIGHBORS.

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.

A few deep breaths. That's all he needed.

Gene left the trolley and walked towards the apartments, the building surprisingly quite but he remembered that the other Nicelanders had decided that with the way things had been going on, staying in would have been a better, and safer, option.

Of course by now, Gene knew otherwise.

He knew there were reasons WHY strange things had been happening around Niceland.

"Wow, did you see Mary?" said a voice from down the hall.

Gene rounded the corner, seeing Lucy and Pearl talking to each other. Gene should have known that word would get out to how upset Mary was and he hoped the others hadn't done anything to escalate the feelings.

Still though, he had to know what the others thought.

"I hope she's alright…" Pearl said sadly, shaking her head "I asked her if she needed any help and she just ran into her apartment! Closed the door right in my face!"

"Geeze, I wonder where Gene was during all of this!" Lucy said "You'd think he'd be follwin' right behind her but tha big blueberry isn't ANYWHERE to be seen!"

"You don't think-!" Pearl gasped "Oh, I shouldn't think such things!"

"What do ya mean?"

"You don't think HE was the one who made her upset, do you?" Pearl asked in worry. Lucy's face dropped, a little disturbed by the thought.

"Boy, Gene musta done somethin' REALLY harsh ta make Mary cry like-!"

"ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!" Gene roared, coming around the corner and scaring both woman. Lucy looked u at the mayor, never having seen his cheeks so red.

"GAH! Genie!"

"W-we're glad you're back!" Pearl said, trying to cover for both her words and Lucy's as well. Gene wasn't having any of it, the man running a hand through his hair as he stared at both ladies.

"Mary came back alright?"

"Yeeees…." Lucy said nervously "But, ya might wanna stay clear…or maybe ya SHOULD go in an' talk ta her!"

The man's eyes narrowed as he folded his fingers, looking off towards the woman's door. He could hear noises coming from inside but he was still cautious about going in, not only because he didn't want to upset her any further but because he was just so ANGRY he didn't know what he would say to her first.

But he couldn't just leave her, not when she needed comfort.

"Just keep quiet…." Gene said gruffly, walking over to Mary's door "We don't need any more talk going on around here."

The two ladies nodded as they gave each other skeptic looks.

"Boy, what's eatin' Gene?"

The mayor knocked on Mary's door but after a few seconds, there was no reply.

"Dear?"

*Clink!*

*Clank!*

It sounded as if Mary was turning her kitchen upside down.

Gene knocked again, hoping that Mary would answer this time but again no one came to the door.

"_She has to be there. I know she is!_"

The mayor took a deep breath as he clutched onto the doorknob, turning it slightly and pushing forward.

It was open; just his luck.

The man tip-toed in, shutting the door behind him but once he got a closer look as to what was happening around him, the man froze in place. He looked over to Mary's kitchen, the sight before him something that took a while for him to fully grasp.

The area was a complete and utter disaster, pie plates stacked up as high as the ceiling, ingredients and supplies strewn everywhere. Gene could hear metal clanking and the oven door squeaking open again and again as the frantic footsteps of a certain Nicelander in pink rushed too and from around the kitchen.

"Ohh, it's not right! It never is!"

"Mary?"

Mary let out a small scream as she jumped and turned, looking right at Gene with tired eyes.

The woman looked almost as mess as her kitchen, her hair out of its bun and messily hanging about. Her dress was caked with flour and other fillings, some of the powder even winding up on her face. Her hands were red and worn, a few bandages on her tiny little fingers.

Gene knew it had taken him a while to get back home but he could have never imagined that in that time Mary had worked herself to the BONE over….

Over pie?

The two looked at each other once more, neither sure what to say to the other but after a while, Mary broke through.

"I-I didn't expect you home so soon…."

"I wasn't going to just stay there and leave you here alone!" Gene said, walking into to the kitchen but Mary stopped him, holding out a hand.

"Don't. Stop….please."

"But honey!"

"Gene, please give me room!" the woman said, sides-stepping Gene to go right for another bowl of ingredients "I need to get this pie done!"

"But dear…." Gene said sadly, walking back up to the man "You have so many done already! There's no reason for you to keep going like th-!"

"**_THEY'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!_**" the woman shouted "**_NONE OF THEM ARE GOOD ENOUGH! THEY NEVER WERE!_**"

Gene took a step away from the woman, her body shaking in anger as she gripped tighter onto the bowl of ingredients.

"My pies have to be the **_BEST_** if they're to make Felix happy! If they're to make **_ANYONE_** happy!" the woman said in a shaking voice, a tear rolling down her cheeks "**_I HAVE A JOB TO DO AND I HAVE TO DO IT RIGHT!_**"

"Honey, calm down!" the mayor said, taking Mary by her shoulders and pulling her away from the counter "You're going to make yourself SICK if you keep this up!"

"M-ME!" the woman spat, trying her best to look angry at Gene "W-what about YOU!? Y-you're going ti make yourself sick-! With all the-! PIE! YOU STEAL FROM ME AND E-!"

Mary had to stop, unable to finish her words as she dropped the bowl on the ground, the metallic object landing with a loud clang on the ground. She slid down, sitting on the floor as she covered her eyes and wept. Gene instantly followed, taking Mary into his arms and holding her tightly.

"No, no! Please don't cry! Please don't cry…."

"I-I can't help it…" the woman sobbed, shaking in the man's arms "I….I can't do it Gene! I just can't!"

"What do you mean?" the man said, sitting himself in a better position next to the woman.

"It's true isn't it?" the woman sniffed as she looked at the mayor "We ARE useless aren't we? We've spent so many years here just doing the same thing and for WHAT?"

"Because it's what we're PROGRAMMED to do!" Gene said, moving closer to Mary than before.

It was amazing; it only took a moment of grief for Gene to drop his bashfulness towards the little pie maker as he never would have thought about getting this closer to her before. But she needed comfort, she needed reassurance and embarrassed or not, he wasn't going to let Mary down, not when she needed it.

"Gene, should I really be happy with this?" the woman asked "Should I be proud of who I am and what I do?"

The man gulped; had Vanellope's words gotten to Mary so much that she was actually starting to doubt herself?

"Dear, you have more than a code, you have a GIFT!" the man smiled "A wonderful, WONDERFUL gift that you should be proud of!"

"Really?" the woman said in a weak voice "From the sound of everyone, my gift doesn't mean much…especially when everyone else can bake pies too…"

"But your pies bring such happiness to everyone!" Gene said "Don't you ever see that? Everyone loves it when they receive pies from you because what you do? How you make them? There's something special about them that can't be duplicated or even programmed! It's what YOU are…."

"But….but what if…" the woman stopped, lowering her head "Everyone's made it more than clear as to what they think of us and our skills….If that's how they feel-!"

Gene was burning with anger, unable to take the look on Mary's face any longer "**_FORGET WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY! FORGET THEIR WORDS! FORGET THEIR ANGER!_**"

Mary looked up, Gene standing over her and looking furious "Dear, we can't fight it. You know that…."

"Who says we can't?" the mayor growled, his little fist balled up "Why does EVERYONE have to get on our case for what WE do and then willingly turn around and add to it?! Can you tell me why?!"

"I-I don't know, honey…."

"It's because there's no reason!" the man said, helping Mary off the floor and over to the couch "THIRTY years, Mary! THIRTY YEARS we've had to deal with our own stuff and yet Ralph and Vanellope are the only ones who get to air their woes out?!"

"Dear, please don't bring that up…." Mary sighed, feeling exhausted "I don't want to get angry at the child so…"

"And why not?" Gene said, his eyes narrowing "You heard those words she said. She spoke them out loud enough for everyone to hear and to add their own opinions to the matter!"

"I-I know but-!"

"But WHAT? BUT WHAT?!" the man shouted, getting even angrier than before "I was going to excuse ALL of this, like we ALWAYS do but after what they did to you?! I'm not havin' this anymore!"

"Gene, sit down! Please!" Mary begged "What in the world can we do? I mean, we've lived through it for years. What in the world can happen that will get people to change their minds?"

Gene walked over to the kitchen in silence and looked over the mess that lay before him. There were so many pies, so many mistakes, and so many flub but he didn't care. Mary had made them all and despite the way they looked, he knew they were delicious.

He reached down, taking what seemed to be some sort of combination of peach and raspberry. With fork in hand, he scooped out a bit and placed it in his mouth.

Bliss.

Pure bliss.

The pie may have looked awful but the taste was heavenly.

Mary was tearing herself apart due to the cruel words of others in the arcade, others who felt that their doings were helping Ralph in the form of some sort of bizarre justice for what had been dealt to him for so long.

But they didn't know.

They didn't know because they didn't care. They CHOSE to see on side of the story, one side of the issue and because of that, they were able to go about their hecklings and words without any sense of guilt.

Not anymore.

Not this time.

Gene took a plate from the cupboard and sliced a piece of pie, putting the hunk of pastry on the porcelain dish before walking back and handing it to Mary. The woman was a bit confused by the action, looking up at Gene with sad eyes.

"Dear, it taste wonderful, as usual…."

"Th-thank you sweetie…." The little Nicelander said, taking a feeble bite of her pie "I just wish…"

"You didn't have to take any of that…."

Mary looked up "What?"

"You didn't have to take ANY of that…." Gene said in a dark voice, his hands folded together "You could have said something. **_I_** could have said something but as you can see, the results were?"

The man stopped, closing his eyes for a second. Mary looked over, awaiting Gene to reply to her but as soon as his eyes shot open, her blood ran cold.

That look; that look Gene often gave people when he had been pushed too far. It showed up in his eyes, their usual bright and cartoonish blue color looking so cold and hateful. Mary knew that things were about to get worse from the night but she had no idea what to expect.

"Gene, please! Dear, don't go about doing anything stupid!"

"You ask me not to do anything stupid?" Gene said as he stood up, walking towards the door "The only stupid thing done this night was the moment those people thought they could actually get away with those hurtful words towards you."

Mary gulped; she could understand if Gene wanted to protect her but she had a terrible feeling that he was about to take things too far, not any different from the people in the bar. She sprang up, running towards Gene and wrapping her arms around his chubby frame and burying her face in the nape of his neck.

"Dear! DON'T! Please don't do anything you're going to regret!"

Gene blushed like mad as Mary held onto him. Again, he had always wanted things like this to happen but now that they were, the man was just too embarrassed to say anything, not that he wanted Mary to let go of course.

"Gene, I just want to be happy, that's all…" the woman murmured "I don't want to fight with anyone. I don't want to be scared of anyone. Can't you understand that?"

Gene sighed as he looked down at the floor but by now, his mind was made. Not only did he have his own pride to look after but everyone else in the apartments as well and he wasn't about to let some talk bring down the game, especially when he had already done enough with his own actions towards Ralph beforehand.

"Mary? Sweetie….There is a request I have of you…"

Mary looked up, a little worried at Gene's tone "Y-Yes?"

"Take the day off."

The baker looked shocked at the proposal? Take a day off? Never in her wildest dreams would she even DARE think about that!

"Excuse me?"

"Take the day off…." Gene repeated, looking back at Mary "There will be a little shift in the schedule tomorrow so just be aware of it."

"But what about the others? What are they going to do?"

The mayor pushed the door open, the darkness in the room suddenly going over him and making his face look even more threatening to the woman.

"They'll be fine. _TRUST ME._"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten- Strike

Morning came a lot sooner than Ralph had wanted the following day, the wrecker still contemplating everything that had happened at Tapper's. Before he had left Vanellope, the little racer still was very upset with him and his lack of a real answer about his feelings towards the Nicelanders. Ralph had wanted to step in and say something but he felt so cornered, something that he absolutely regretted as he realized that both Gene and Mary had heard in on the conversations of EVERYONE at the bar.

"I wonder how they're doing?" the man thought to himself as he readied himself for work. He stepped from his little shake, feeling the morning warmth come over him and the dew on the grass on his toes.

It was a welcoming sight but he didn't like how still Niceland seemed.

Something was just off. Usually, Felix and the others were going around to make sure everything looked pristine and ready for the game day but this time?

Aside from Felix, no one was to be found. Ralph walked up to the tiny repairman.

"Hey Felix?"

The man in blue smiled from ear to ear, seemingly unaware of what was happening "Ah, there ya are! I was wonderin' where your big butt was!"

"Um, yeah…" Ralph said to himself, still a little disturbed by the stillness of the game "Say, did ya run into Gene or Mary last night?"

"Mmmm, no…." Felix said, doing a few stretches to loosen himself up before work began "Tammy an' I were out all night an' by tha time we got home, we had just assumed that everyone was asleep."

"So, ya didn't hear anythin'?"

Felix turned around, suddenly looking rather concerned at the wrecker "Brother….did somethin' happen?"

"NAH! Just…just worryin' too much, I guess…" Ralph breathed out, not want to make the situation worse.

Like clockwork, the two heard the clanking of the front doors opening as gamers began to file in, their excited cheers a welcome sound to both wrecker and repairman. Felix looked up at Ralph, a glint in his eye.

"Ready?"

Ralph hesitated, not sure what to do or say.

"Er, re-!"

The familiar sound of a quarter alert filled the air, the two suddenly darting off to make sure they hadn't been spotted. Ralph was more than ready to get to work if it meant that he didn't have to focus so much on what had happened the other night and as the animation began….

"HEY! YOU MOVED MY STUMP!"

Walk over to Niceland.

"I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"

Ralph stormed up the building, breaking his massive fist into Gene's apartment but as he pulled his hand out….

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Ralph had to double back, making sure that he hadn't MISSED Gene in his rush to get on his spot but as he peered into the little apartment it became apparent that the wrecker hadn't missed Gene at all.

It was impossible to miss someone who wasn't there!

"_Uh, RALPH!_"

The big man looked over, Felix moving his hands to signal him to move on and with no other choice, that's exactly what Ralph did. He moved up the building, throwing things left and right but….

Nothing.

The little word bubble containing the Nicelanders' lines popped up but there were no Nicelanders to say it.

From the looks of things, it was just Ralph and Felix.

"_FELIX!_" whispered Ralph, the man growing all the more nervous by the second.

"_I know, I know! Just keep going!_"

Felix bounded in, his hammer in hand.

"I can FIX it!"

And off he went. Ralph began pounding brick and mortar, the items raining down on Felix as ducks flew past. After a while, the little man looked around, expecting a Nicelander to pop up from their window or slide their way down the ladders.

But no one came.

The game was empty.

"W-where is everyone?" Felix asked, still hammering away under the player's control.

"Hey, Bonnie!" the player asked "When are the pies supposed to come up?"

The girl near the table looked up from her book, walking over to her younger friend "What do ya mean?"

"Aren't their supposed to be pies I can use as powers ups in this game?"

"Yeah, why do ya ask?"

The player continued to work around Ralph but found it getting tiring the more they struggled against the increasing speed. This was only the first level but it was starting to feel like the player had been placed in the ONE HUNDREDTH!

"Then why don't I see 'em?!" the player said "Look, its just the lil wreckin' guy with tha lil fixy person! Where are tha lil pie people?"

"Don't get upset! They should be here soon!" the other girl said, looking around the screen herself for any sign of the Nicelanders but just like Felix and Ralph, she saw nothing.

Higher and higher the player TRIED to get but they kept falling back, bricks and ducks much too hard to get pass without the help of a single pie.

"Bonnie, I'm runnin' outta time!"

"WATCH OUT FOR THAT DU-!"

***BOOM!***

Felix was struck in the head by a wayward brick, the man falling down and landing with a loud thud.

Game over.

"Aw man!" said the player, reaching in for another quarter "Lemme try again! I'm sure I can get it!"

Another go around, another disappointment.

Just like the first time, the Nicelanders failed to show up, their little windows dark and their sills pieless. Felix was being run ragged as the players continued to go at the game, trying in vain to find a pie ANYWHERE but like clockwork.

***BOOM!***

Down he went.

"W-wow. I guess someone managed to hack the game into hard-mode or something'!"

"Is that possible?" asked the older girl "I didn't think you could actually hack these older games."

"I dunno, but I can't play this, at least at my skills…" the younger girl said sadly "Maybe if I tried something easier…"

"Here, don't be that upset. Lemme buy ya a slice of pizza and we can try again…."

With the two girls gone, Felix and Ralph rushed down to the front of the building, both men in a scramble for what exactly had happened.

"What in tha arcade-?!"

"Now Felix, calm down!"

"Calm down? How can I CALM DOWN!?" the little repairman gasped, walking back and forth "The Nicelanders! Where are they?!"

The wrecker growled in anger, wondering the same thing himself "Maybe if we…."

"Oh mah land, what if somethin' is wrong with 'em? What if they're sick?!"

Typical Felix; he was so worried about the Nicelanders that he hadn't stopped to think that the probable cause to their disappeared was their choice not to show up THEMSELVES. What other reason could there be for the absence of the little people?

"Look, Felix. Don't burn yourself out on this."

"But Ralph-!"

Another signal, another game.

The two men looked at each other for a split second and dashed off but they could only DRED the next round of games, realizing that if the Nicelanders weren't around, it was up to them and the player to make up for the missing pies.

This was going to be one heck of a day.

One game, two games.

Then five, the ten.

Then twenty, then twenty-five!

Throughout the day, player after player tried their hand at the 'new and improved' Nicelander-less game but they quickly found that something was thrown off balance. Something was missing, something fun was gone.

It was as every character knew, you can't go against your program otherwise the entire game was thrown off and as Ralph saw, even the smallest of programs eventually wore away to something big and troubling.

It was the final leg of the game day, players still flocking around to see if they could get anywhere in this round and to Ralph's luck, Moppet was in charge this time around. She knew this game like the back of her hand and if there were ANYONE that could get Felix high enough without the need of pie, it was HER.

She had succeeded in one round, finally breaking the bad streak to level two but once more, the Nicelanders didn't show up to throw Ralph off the building!

"Hey, where are the pie people?" asked a small boy who was standing on his tiptoes "Aren't they the ones who throw the big guy off the building?"

Ralph stood flustered for a moment but without anything else he could do….

The man simply LEAPT off the building, hoping that would appease the players.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAURGH!"

SPLAT! Into the mud Ralph went.

The music for the second level came up, Moppet readying herself once more. She tried with all her might; she moved Felix to the left, she moved him to the right!

Up, down, left, right! All the combinations of buttons and directions!

But still…

***BOOM!***

Down he went!

"Aww, man!" cried Moppet "Just when I thought I was getting somewhere!"

"Sorry kids, but its time to go…." Litwak said as he began to lead the players to the exit "Felix an' the others will be here tomorrow, I promise."

"I hope so!" said another boy "From tha looks of things, it was just Felix and Ralph! Not a pie in sight!"

"Oh?" the old man said, looking back at the game. From his view, things looked fine enough but he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Heh, well it's not like this is the first time that game has don't something cookoo!"

With the door locked and the all clear sounded, both wrecker and repairman simply fell out on the grass, each one tired and worn from the fevered players.

"Oh mah LAND! What happened today?"

"I couldn't tall ya, Felix…" Ralph said as he sat up, wiping his brow "I just know that for our sake, we better find out what's goin' QUICK so we don't have a repeat performance tomorrow!"

"Y-yeah….a repeat."

Felix looked down at the grass, feeling a might guilty over the failure of a game day.

"Hey, Ralph….ya don't think tha guys are UPSET with me, do ya?"

Ralph could only look down at Felix in utter shock; first he was excusing the actions of the Nicelanders and now he was taking the FALL?!

This was too much, even for Felix.

"Felix! URGH!" the man growled, putting a hand to his forehead "This is NONE of your fault so don't stress yourself over it!"

"But what are we gonna do? Tha guys haven't shown up all day an-!"

"Leave it ta me…." Ralph said, getting up and walking over to the doors of the building "Why don't ya go visit Calhoun or somethin'? Ya look like ya need it!"

The repairman smiled a bit, the very thought of the woman making his heart flutter. He might have been achy and sweaty from all the work he had done but her smile was something that would make up for the terrible day he had had.

"Yeah, I think I will!" Felix sang happily as he hopped off to the trolley "Don't get inta any trouble while I'm gone!"

"O-Oh, WE won't!" Ralph grimaced as he waved the repairman away, watching ever so closely as the trolley disappeared down the dark tunnels.

And then Ralph was alone.

The man growled as he turned crimson with rage, his fist balled up.

"Okay, somethin's up!" the man grumbled as he marched through the doors and squeezed himself into the elevator. The soft music did nothing to calm him down as the more he thought about what happened, the angrier he became!

"_Gene….I know this has to be Gene's doin'!_"

Top floor. Gene's floor.

Ralph struggled a bit to unwedge himself from the elevator box but after he POPPED out, he continued his trek down the halls, his footsteps shaking the entire place. The entire hall was still and silent, adding to the uneasy air that Ralph felt around him but he was still upset over what he had Felix had to deal with due to the Nicelanders' refusal to show up for their jobs.

Who did those guys think they were anyway? It wasn't as if they had time to slack off!

But it had to be more than that. It had to be.

Ralph had been around the group for three decades and he knew better than to think they had just suddenly decided to take a break. They were always so DEDICATED to their work so what on Earth could have caused them to skip out now.

Gene.

It HAD to be.

The wrecker stopped in front of the mayor's door, trying with all his might not to break it down and force himself in.

More the reason for Gene to complain about Ralph being an uncivilized brute.

"_Ya know better than that…._" The big man said to himself "_Ya ARE better than that!_"

Ralph lifted a hand and being as gentle as he could….

*Knock, knock, knock.*

"_Who is it?_"

Ralph was a bit taken back by the calmness of the voice on the other side. Had he gone to the right apartment? Surly it couldn't have been Gene! The person behind the door sounded MUCH too nice!

"Um, its me…" Ralph replied.

"_Oh, RALPH!_"

There were a few muffled PINGS and the soft clapping of shoes on the floor and once the tumbler of Gene's door turned…

"Ah, Ralph!" Gene said with a cheery smile, his cheeks rosy and his eyes filled with all sorts of warmth and welcoming "How nice it is to see you!"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven – Reveal

"Aw man, you have so many kinks…" Calhoun said as she rubbed Felix's shoulders, the man groaning in pain the harder she pressed.

"Ai, sore! SORE!"

"Ya know honey, why don't ya use your hammer on this?" the woman smiled "It would work a lot quicker than me kneadin' ya…."

"I guess I could do that…" the repairman smiled "But it just doesn't have a true tender love an' care feelin' ta it, ya know?"

Calhoun bent down and kissed Felix on the cheek "Hmm, fair enough. But tell me, what's gotten inta ya tonight? Somethin' happen in your game?"

"Oy, ya wouldn't believe it if I told ya!"

"I'm all ears…" the woman smiled as she snuggled close to the little man "No one is giving ya trouble now, are they?"

"That's the thing, Tammy. I don't know." The repairman groaned "I told ya what's been goin' on all week with me an' the Nicelanders an' Ralph but today?"

"What happened?"

Felix rubbed his brow, trying his best to think of a way of explaining what had happened without getting his love too upset. He knew how protective Calhoun could be and if he misspoke ONE word…

Who knew what type of damage Niceland could be in after that.

"Sweet, promise me this…." The repairman began "Don't get mad at Ralph or tha Nicelanders…."

"Why? What do they have to do with this?" the woman asked in confusion.

"I-I figured this would all catch up an' I think I have a good idea as ta why this happened…."

* * *

Ralph looked down at Gene, a little disturbed at just how happy the man looked. The wrecker had never seen a smile on the man's face as big as this before and he only wondered what exactly had happened to put him into such a delightful mood.

"Well?"

"Well, WHAT?" Ralph asked.

"Aren't you going to come in?" the mayor said, still smiling as he waved a hand into his apartment.

"Er, Genie? I-is somethin' up?" the man asked, all anger clearly forgotten by this point as he walked into the tiny apartment. Gene said nothing, instead hopping off to the kitchen and pulling a pie from the oven.

PIE.

There it was.

The very thing that had been missing from the day's game play, all warm and ready for the taking.

"Is something up?" Gene asked, cutting a nice slice from the tin "Mmmmm, I don't THINK there is? Why do you ask?"

There was something oddly robotic about Gene's tone and it even had Ralph creeped out. The Nicelander made his way back to the living room where Ralph was sitting, handing him a plate.

"Um, thank you?"

"Not a problem! Not a problem!" Gene said, still smiling as he sat himself in his favorite arm chair.

Silence.

Silence is never a good thing.

The clock ticked away painfully as the two men sat in the apartment, Ralph looking around as if he were expecting something to happen to him that very moment.

Were the rest of the Nicelander hiding somewhere in the apartment? Did Gene put something in the pie? Either way, Ralph felt cornered and he felt as if Gene were the one in control, ready to press a button or pull a lever at any moment to launch a surprise in the wrecker's face.

But nothing happened.

Gene just SAT there, still smiling, still silent.

Ralph knew he had to do something to break the silence and he had to do it quickly before he went mad.

"Um, nice pie."

"You haven't tasted it…" Gene smiled, his grin growing larger. Ralph felt his skin crawl at the smile, not used to such a sight but without thinking he put a forkful of pie in his mouth.

As soon as the pastry hit his tongue, PURE BLISS.

PURE PIE HEAVEN.

It was some of the best pie Ralph had ever tasted, reminding him that the Nicelanders were indeed dedicated to their work. He lowered his fork to his plate, looking away from Gene. He coughed, running a hand through his hair.

"AH-"

"You seem nervous…" the mayor said "Something wrong?"

"N-no!" Ralph said "In fact, I should be askin' YOU that question, Big Gene."

"OH?" the mayor said, his cold eyes going right into Ralph "What would ever come up that you make you be so concerned over **_UUUUS?_**"

The way Gene held on his final word confirmed Ralph's fears from before; he KNEW what had happened last night and everything that had happened before was connected to it. The big man scowled, refusing to allow himself to be pulled by Gene any further.

Enough with the smiles, enough with the eyes, enough with the pie! Ralph was going to give Gene a piece of his mind!

At least he HOPED so.

"Okay, ya know what? I can see right through ya, GENIE. No matter how much ya try ta play up, I can see your grubby lil finger prints all of this!"

"All over WHAT?" Gene asked, continuing to play clueless.

"GENE, STOP IT!" the wrecker roared "I'm not freakin' stupid so stop playin' like I am! I know ya called in tha others ta hide today! WHY?! WHY WOULD YA DO SOMETHIN' LIKE THAT?!"

"My boy, I don't have the SLIGHTEST clue as to what-!"

"GENE! STOP PLAYIN' AROUND!" Ralph said, getting closer and closer to losing his temper "Ya left Felix an' I hangin' all day! Do ya UNDERSTAND what type of DANGER ya put us in?! If the gamers had gotten any wiser ta it, they would have thought somethin' was wrong with tha game or somethin'!"

"But Raaaalph…" Gene said, his eyes narrowing as his mood began to darken "Why are you so upset at US? You act as if we have JOBS here, as if we have ROLES."

The wrecker snapped to for a moment, noticing Gene's choice of words and his sudden change of mood. The little man sat back in his chair, his legs crossed and his hands resting on his mustache.

His eyes; his eyes told the whole story to Ralph and what he saw scared the man.

"We're USELESS, Ralph. Remember?" Gene began, his voice deepening "What you and Felix went through today was just TYPICAL of what its like everyday, wasn't it?"

"W-what do you mean-?"

"YOU and FELIX carry this game, RIGHT?" Gene cut in "YOU two are the ONLY ones who do ANYTHING so obviously, a Nicelanderless game is a NORMAL game! I don't see why you guys are complaining so much since this is what you go through EVERY. DAY!"

Ralph growled once more, moving up to Gene but the man didn't flinch or fidget.

"Now look here, GENE…" Ralph growled "I know EXACTLY what you're talkin' about an' I'm SORRY but ya didn't hafta drag FELIX inta this! Ya didn't even hafta drag tha others inta this but you-!"

"You're not sorry…"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Gene retorted in a hard tone "You're NOT sorry and I'm not surprised by that fact."

"Gene, just here me out, please! What happened the other night was-!"

The man stopped himself, trying to remember not to get too caught up or to blame himself for what happened. He was still angry at Gene and he had good reason to be but the Nicelander wasn't budging an inch, his own rage much too great at this point to be stopped.

"How did it feel Ralph? I want to know how it felt?"

"How WHAT felt?"

"To be SCARED." Gene hissed "To be scared knowing that with one simple action, everything could fall apart….To know that without the actions of certain characters, everything falls apart."

Gene got up and walked over to his liquor cabinet, taking out his strongest alcohol and pouring himself a small helping. He tipped the glass to his lips and downed the shot in a second, his eyes once again returning to Ralph.

"I bet ya thought that WE would be the one's cowering the in the corner RIGHT? I bet you thought we'd be the only ones looking lost and confused, **_RIGHT?!_**"

"Gene, simmer down!"

"**_TELL ME RALPH!_**" Gene roared "**_HOW DOES IT FEEL?!"_**

The little man looked down at the floor and he began to chuckle but that chuckle began to grow, turning into a maddened cackle. Ralph was simply disturbed by what he saw but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. The laughter began to die down, Gene wiping a little eight-bit tear from his eye.

"Oh, what am I talking about?" the man smiled "You're the arcade **_HERO._** There's no need for you to worry yourself on such lowly PEASANTS as us! In fact, you can walk RIGHT OUTTA this game and to a better life, CAN'T ya? A life where you don't have to worry about us TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE Nicelanders hurting your tender feelings anymore, HUH?!"

Gene was obviously on the road to cracking and Ralph couldn't take the sight anymore. He stood up and walked over to the man though he did so with caution, as if he expected Gene to lash out at him at any given moment.

"Gene, I swear if you-!"

"Don't come near me!" the man spat "Don't you DARE take ONE step near me!"

"What the heck is your problem?!" Ralph asked, feeling exhausted "Oh my GOSH! I just wanted ta know what in the world made ya guys stop handin' out pies! I didn't want all of this!"

"You didn't did you?" Gene said "You mean to tell me you DIDN'T want a game without us or that you DIDN'T wish that we were all gone so your life could be better!"

"NO!" the wrecker roared "Why are you doin' this Gene?! What in tha arcade has gotten in your mind that you-!"

"EVERYONE." Gene said, taking another swig "EVERYONE in this **_GOD-DAMN_** arcade has made it clear as to what they think of us, Ralph."

Such language! Ralph knew things were bad when Gene started cursing like that!

"I wanna tell ya somethin', HERO. I am AWARE what we did was wrong. I am aware what I did was wrong but if you think for a second that we're going to allow EVERYONE here to walk on the fact for OUR past crimes, while everyone goes around acting as if they're SINLESS, you have another thing coming!"

"Gene, I forgave ya guys! Ya know that!" Ralph said, wanting to just grab Gene and SHAKE those words into him so he'd finally understand "People know that!"

"You'd think they would, wouldn't you? In YOUR mind, you can say ONE word and things are perfect and HAPPY and you can continue on getting all the LOVE and ATTENTION and BUTT-PATS you've wanted for years, **_RIGHT?!_** But things don't work that way, RALPH. They don't work that way and you know it. You can't be that STUPID to ignore it!"

"Gene, I am only going to ask this one more time…" Ralph said as calmly as he could "What in the WORLD set you off this badly? Just tell me an' I'm sure I can set it right!"

Gene said nothing, instead giving Ralph such a vitriol-fueled stare that Ralph was certain he should have ERUPTED into flames if the Nicelander had the powers to do so. The Nicelander once again ran his fingers through his hair but he was much too frazzled now, the prim and proper style now a bit mussed and loose.

"She cried Ralph…" Gene said with an empty smile "She cried. Does that garner any sense of emotions out of you? Or are you like everyone else here who believes we don't have souls?"

She cried?

Who?

There was only one person Gene could get so emotional over and the realization hit the wrecker like a ton of….bricks.

He knew things had gotten out of hand at the bar but he didn't realize just how far things had gone. To hear that Mary had CRIED over what was said made Ralph realize how much words can hurt EVERYONE. The big man continued to sit on the couch with his large hands folded over his legs. Gene on the other hand continued to smile, a chuckle shaking in his throat.

"Ya what I love about this place, Ralph? The thing that REALLY gets me goin'?"

The big man was almost too scared to reply but he knew he had to, if not to prevent another outburst from Gene but the little man continued anyway.

"I REALLY love how people are so quick to accusations all the while claiming that its such a terrible thing to do! Take your little FRIIIEND for instance!"

"Gene, don't bring her into this?"

"And why SHOULDN'T I?" the mayor shot "After all, HER words were the ones who brought the crowd into SUCH a fever pitch! Her words were held SO HIGH in regard that night!"

"Gene, STOP!"

"I'll stop when you get these facts through your SKULL!" the Nicelander snarled "I had sympathy for the kid Ralph! I REALLY DID! But the moment she started talking out of turn about MARY?!"

Again, the man stopped, shaking his head.

"That little 'heartfelt' speech she gave out proved to me that she's no different than everyone else here…."

"What do you mean by that Gene?"

"What I MEEEEEAN is that she is just like everyone else! She KNOWS we can't fight back. She KNOWS that our words mean nothing here so what does she do? She took advantage of that to INSULT OUR LIVELIHOOD for your amusement!"

"Trust me, Genie….I wasn't amused."

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!"

"I was caught in the moment, okay?!" the wrecker said, getting more flustered by the second "Sh-she was just so angry but I didn't know what to say!"

"You could have said stop."

"I DID, but you know how she is! I-"

"Oh, I KNOW how she is NOW, RALPH." The little man said as he took his seat back in his chair, his hands shaking "I know EXACTLY how she is and I know you were covering for her…."

Ralph's face turned, the man looking offended by the comment.

"Gene, you listen to me right now…" the wrecker began "I am NOT covering for Vanellope!"

"Yes you are…" Gene snapped "Yes the HELL you are."

"How can you say somethin' like that?! How can you accuse me of-"

"Because you don't want to upset her." Gene said in a surprisingly calm voice "I can understand that but there is such a thing as LIMITS Ralph….but I guess since she's PRESIDENT, she can say whatever the hell she wants. She can do whatever she wants because of what SHE went through, right?"

"You know I don't believe that!"

"Huh! Hard to tell…." The Nicelander said in a cold tone "But like I said, I shouldn't have been surprised. Stuff like this has been happening to us for YEARS, Ralph but I don't blame you for not seeing it. I mean, it's not like we really talked or anything in the past, DID we?"

"Yeah, I wonder WHY?" Ralph said in a cruel tone.

"I bet you think our lives are PERFECT, don't you? I bet you think that being a Nicelander is so EASY and so CONTENT! We NEVER have problems, nope NEVER!"

The maddened look reappeared on Gene's face, signally Ralph that there was only more trouble ahead.

"I bet you tell all your bad anon friends about how we live such a WONDERFUL life of luxury, no one bothering us and how we just give pies to Felix for NO REASON other than because he's the hero! I bet you tell all sorts of tales don't ya, young man? DON'T CHA?"

"Gene, dude. You're starting to scare me!"

"GOOD!" the man shouted "Maybe then you'll see that YOU'RE not the only one who gets crap for being WHO YOU ARE in this stupid place! But I forgot! Poor downtrodden RALPH is the ONLY PERSON TO EVER HAVE TROUBLES! **_TO EVER BE PUSHED AROUND FOR THEIR JOB! NO ONE ELSE HAS PROBLEMS! ONLY YOU! ISN'T THAT RIGHT, HEROOOOOOOOOO?!_**"

In a final fit of rage, Gene threw his glass into the wall, the man letting out a blood thirsty scream as he collapsed on his knees. He panted but Ralph was quick to see that he was shaking in sorrow, his hands gripping onto the tile floor.

"You…you want to know why we cared so much about Felix, Ralph? Why we saw him as a hero?"

The wrecker said nothing, only nodding his head.

"It's because he was the only person here who treated us with an OUNCE of respect….." the little mayor said, his voice rattling "You know what it's like out there Ralph. The moment we step out of this game, we have to come face to face with a collection of people. Some don't bother us….but others DO. And for THIRTY YEARS, we've had to deal with that."

Gene stood on his feet, still panting as he gave Ralph a serious look.

"There have been characters who have seen us as JOKES, Ralph. Characters who wouldn't waste a beat to tell us they could easily chew us up and spit us back out and why? Because they KNEW we couldn't fight back. Because they KNEW we're low on the character chain. And guess what? We took it Ralph. We took the insults and the pushing with SMILES. WEEK AFTER WEEK! MONTH AFTER MONTH! YEAR AFTER YEAR!"

"I-is that so?" asked Ralph.

"YEAH! That is SO!" Gene said "We never had our lil NPC group to go to every week. We didn't have our little circle to talk about WHO kicked us, or who ROLLED us or WHO insulted us for being NPCs! We had EACH other…and we had FELIX."

It was all starting to become clear to Ralph. The years and years that had gone by between himself and the Nicelanders, everything was starting to click.

Maybe it was like Gene said; Felix was praised not for his status as just a 'hero', but rather because he was a hero to the Nicelanders for standing up for them WHEN NO ONE ELSE WOULD. When no one else would care.

It was like what Bowser had said; when certain characters are taken advantage of, they begin to get hostile and that hostility is rubbed off on the closest thing they have that resembles their bully.

And that 'thing' was Ralph.

"I know it seems silly. I know it seems CRUEL but that's the truth…" Gene continued "Felix was the only one who seemed to care back then. When something happened, he would come up and get us out of the way before things got too deep. Maybe we were blinding by that fact but we had no one else to turn to….Felix was the person who always came to our rescue, and not just in game-play….outside it as well."

Gene placed his hands to his temples, feeling dizzy as his anger began to drop.

"I am sorry Ralph. I am sorry the pain we caused you…..but if you seriously think I'm going to STAND here and ALLOW us to get walked over again just so YOU can feel good about yourself, you have another thing coming!"

"I-I understand….I really do." Ralph said sadly "I just wish we could have said something back then. That we could have done something to prevent all of this from happenin'…."

"Don't we all…" Gene mumbled "But don't waste your breath. I know things will never change."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is no matter what WE do, we're always going to be your bad guys. That's it plain and simple…WE'RE the ones who did such horrible things to you in-game and OUT that we DESERVE all this CRUELTY!" the Nicelander frowned "So I guess we should get USED to all of this and just wait for the abuse to continue? That sounds like a plan to me!"

"Gene, this is NUTS!" Ralph said "First you make the others stop handing out pies and now you're talkin' about lettin' all of this continue!? Why would you want to-!?"

"It's not about what **_I_** want Ralph! It's not even about what WE want! It's about what EVERYONE in this arcade wants to believe so they can appease YOU and Vanellope! Who CAAAARES if that means that we have to take all the anger that has already be thrown at us for YEARS! Just so long as YOU and Vanellope can laugh at us, ITS FINE!"

"No, it's NOT fine!"

"Laugh it up, HERO BOY! We're just your clowns who do nothing but perform for your pleasure RIGHT?! What other forms of PUBLIC HUMILIATION do you and Vanellope want to see us do?! Do you want to see the ladies being thrown in garbage and having their dresses torn off?! **_DO YOU WANT TO SEE ALL OF US GETTING KILLED OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO RESPAWN BEFORE YOU OR-?!_**"

"GENE!"

The man suddenly stopped, turning in shock towards the door to see none other than MARY looking at both him and the wrecker, her eyes wide in disbelief. The mayor shook where he stood, all the anger that had once fueled him seemingly melting away, leaving him a shivering wreck of a man.

"M-M-M-MARY?!"

The woman walked into the apartment, shaking her head as she still could not believe what she had just seen and heard.

"G-Gene!"

The man was turning pale, his breathing racing.

"D-dear, I just-!"

**_*SLAP!*_**

Gene let out a pained cry as he stumbled back, Mary's slap stinging not only his face but down to the very pit of his heart and code. Ralph said nothing, completely taken away that Mary would even do such a thing to Gene!

Finally getting back to his senses, Gene looked at the woman but through her anger and his pain, it was obvious that both were much too filled with bad emotions at the moment. The mayor continued to hold hos glowing cheek, the pain actually feeling like it was increasing.

"W-why would you-!?"

"Don't you DARE say anything, GENE!" Mary said, so angry that tears were forming in her eyes "I can understand you being upset enough to defend us but what you did went too far and YOU KNOW THAT!"

The mayor said nothing, his face twisting in agony "M-Mary, I-!"

"It's bad enough we agreed to go along with the plan!" Mary said "But now you're taking this out on RALPH!? Gene!"

"I'M JUST TIRED OF IT MARY!" the man shouted, finally breaking down in front of the woman as he grabbed her hands. He shook horribly, tears of rage and anger pouring from his eyes as he drew Mary nearer, the woman HORRIFIED at what she was seeing.

"**_I'M SICK OF HEARING PEOPLE LAUGH AT US AND I'M SICK OF HEARING PEOPLE LAUGH AT YOU! THEY WERE NEVER GOING TO STOP! THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO LEAVE US ALONE, NOT UNTIL THEY SAW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN-!_**"

Again, Gene was starting to run out of breath but as he took one look at Mary, he knew that she was right.

He had taken things way too far.

"When-! When….._when….._"

Weakness.

DEFEAT.

Gene felt all of this in that one, crushing moment.

The man sank to one knee, sobbing bitterly at the woman's feet.

"_I'm tired Mary….I'm so tired." _he cried _"Useless, useless, useless….."_

Mary looked up at Ralph, her face telling the man she was sorry for taking part in the fiasco but Ralph turned, not because he was upset with her but rather because he knew that she had someone else who needed to be taken care of even more than him.

Gene continued to sob as he knelt on the ground but he felt a hand going on his back. The hand moved lower as it reached his chin, another placed on his shoulder.

"_Dear?_"

The mayor opened his eyes, looking right into those of Mary, the baker moving closer as she wrapped her arms around him, slowly holding him tighter as she closed her eyes.

"_Stop crying…._" She said, fighting back her own tears.

"_I can't…._" Gene replied.

The woman rubbed the man's back in comfort, kissing him on the cheek "You know…you know you're going to have to tell Felix the truth."

The man dreaded the thought but he knew that Mary was right. This only made him hold her closer, almost as if he felt he were drawing the strength he lacked from her.

"_I'm sorry…."_

Mary only nodded, patting Gene again "I know you are dear, I know…."

Ralph began to tip-toe out of the room, knowing that it would be for the best to leave the two Nicelanders in peace. After all, it wasn't as if his role in all of this were done.

"Ralph?"

The man turned, Mary looking up at him as she continued to hold onto Gene, the man still shaking.

"Where are you-?"

"I have someone I need to talk to…." The big man said in a soft voice "Someone I should have said something to a long time ago."

The man shut the door on the two Nicelanders and made his way towards the elevators. He breathed out, completely blown away by what he had just witnessed.

Never in his life had he thought things were turning in such away after his battle with King Candy. Ralph was so content in happy in all the praise and love that he got that he hadn't noticed that there were people around him who were using him as an excuse to pick on the very people he was trying to form a bond with.

And to know that it had been going on for years.

Ralph realized something right then and there; he didn't know anything about the Nicelanders. Every time he had gone to a Bad Anon meeting, one of the most repeated things he would mentions was how the Nicelanders didn't know HIM as a person or what he was like inside but things played true the other way around.

Ralph had THOUGHT he knew about the Nicelanders but it was obvious that he DIDN'T. If he had been paying attention, he would have seen what was happening right in front of him.

Obviously, both sides had more to do if they wanted to get things working again.

The bell rung on the elevator as it finally came to rest on the ground floor. Ralph stepped out of the building, looking up at the blinking multi-colored stars above.

This was his home, wasn't it?

Now he wasn't so sure.

NO ONE was feeling welcome

This wasn't a home.

A home is where a person can go to and enjoy their time with their loved ones. A home is a place where one can feel SAFE.

And now that people had started to encroach on Niceland, spraying their hate for the arcade to see, the Nicelanders were having that ONE safe haven taken from them.

And it as being done because others thought that's what Ralph wanted. They thought that the man WANTED the Nicelanders to be miserable, that he wanted to see them sad and upset.

He didn't want this and he didn't want people acting on his behalf.

The big man boarded the trolley, taking off for the one place, the one person he knew he could actually talk to.

The one person who needed to see and her for herself what was going on.

Vanellope.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve – Confession

Ralph knew it was late but he couldn't stop. He had to see her.

The man rushed pasted the entrance of Sugar Rush and made his way down the rainbow bridge to the candy castle. He jogged even after he began to run out of breath, reaching the doors and barging in past the guards.

"Vanellope?"

The girl didn't reply. Maybe she was in her room.

"Nelly! HEY, NELLY!"

Not too far away, the racer heard her named being SCREAMED throughout the castle. She glitched and squeaked, turning around just in time to see Ralph standing at her door.

"STINK-BREATH!" she panted, her eyes darting about "What brings you here so late? I mean, shouldn't ya be gettin' your BEAUTY SLEEP?"

Ralph said nothing, looking much too downtrodden to reply to the joke. He staggered over to the racer's bed and sat down….

***CRASH!***

Only to break it under his weight a second later.

"Sorry."

"Eh, I can have someone fix it…" the girl said as she walked over and hopped next to her friend "So what's goin' on stanky-drawers? Ya look like Pac-Man suddenly ran out of cherries or somethin'?"

"Nelly….I want ya ta apologize."

Vanellope was a little confused "Ta who?"

"Ya know who I'm talkin' about…." Ralph said "Mary. Gene. They've really reached tha DEEP-END after what happened last night so they hafta-!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" the girl said in an offended tone "Ya want me ta APOLOGIZE to 'em?! For what!?"

"Do I need ta repeat myself? For what happened last night!" Ralph blurted "Hate ta break it ta ya, but MARY was in on our little convo!"

"That's HER fault!" Vanellope said in anger, turning red in the face "If she wasn't snoopin' 'round in our business then-!"

"Vanellope, STOP!" Ralph yelled "Look, I dunno if Mary was eavesdroppin' or not but I still want ya ta apologize. What ya said? It really broke her heart…."

Vanellope stopped for a second. She tried to play the part of the angry child but the more she heard from Ralph, the more her little wall of anger was starting to cave in.

"W-well….maybe next time they should stop an' think before they go around sayin' they're gonna ban ya again!"

"Kid, I DOUBT that was even true." Ralph said "Don't ya think it would be a little BACKWARDS of them ta even think that? Give 'em a LIL credit here…."

"Ya never know Ralph, 'specially with THEM."

"Ugh, again with all of this…" the man said, rubbing his temples "Ya know, it's not fair for ya to judge others when ya don't wanna be judged yourself. I know the Nicelanders ARE skittish as all get out but they HAVE learned their lesson, sweets! They DO realize that what they did to me was wrong but…."

Ralph paused for a moment; dare he even tell Vanellope what had happened during the day's gameplay? He knew if he did, she would be even LESS willing to listen to his case but then again….

"Ya know what ya said about tha Nicelanders? About how USELESS they were?"

Vamellope looked up "Yeah?"

"Guess what? Today, me an' Felix learned that PIE can make an important difference in how the game turns…"

"Whaddya mean?"

"When ya see one of those lil guys with pie, I bet ya don't think of anything do ya? 'But its only pie!' ya may say….it's not Nelly. It's not. Felix NEEDS those things ta power him up an' those Nicelanders, despite how goofy they look an' sound, they're tha ONLY ones who can make it RIGHT. They're tha only ones who can deliver it to Felix at tha right speed."

Ralph was laughing at himself in the back of his mind; never in his life did he think he would EVER have to say such words about the Nicelanders and stand up for them like this.

"Tha Nicelanders are PROUD of what they do, Nelly like ANY character should be. I'm PROUD of bein' a wrecker. YOU'RE proud of bein' a racer. Well, pie makin' is THEIR duty an' I don't see why they should be treated any less for their roles, even if it's not as GRAND or FLASHY as a lotta people here…."

The little racer was still trying to play face but Ralph was wrecking his way through her wall, the girl slowly and stubbornly coming to see his view.

"_M-Maybe I went a little too far…._"

"Yeah, ya did." Ralph said "Even though I still think it's bad what happened to MARY, I would feel even worse if tha rest of the Nicelanders had heard about it. Puh! Man, if ROY heard ya? He'd have a out a few dozen heart attacks! OR MEG! Oh, BOY! I would hate to see how she reacts! Ya know how shy she is!"

"Wow….I guess I never thought of it like that…." Vanellope said in a guilty tone "Maybe if I laid off the paint then…."

"Yeah, tha paint was TERRIBLE but-!"

Ralph stopped, a chill going down his spine as he turned his neck so fast he cracked. Vanellope clamped her hands to her mouth once she realized what she said, the man looking down at her in shock.

OOPS.

"Wait….how did you-?!"

Vanellope scooted away from the man, fear still in her eyes. Ralph's jaw dropped as his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"YOU?!"

"Ralph, Ralph! It's not what ya think!" the racer pleaded "It just-!"

"**_YOU_** were tha one behind all of this?! **_YOU WERE THA ONE WHO DID ALL THOSE THINGS?!_**"

"Ralph, LISTEN!" Vanellope said, glitching in fear "I-! I-!"

"Vanellope, ya have FIVE second ta tell me the truth or so help me-!"

"FINE! Ya want tha truth?!" the girl spat "Yeah! I was that one who started tha whole toilet paper thing! I got some of tha other racers ta help me with that but after that, they quit!"

"Tha racers were in on this too?! So THEY did the-?!"

"NO, please don't blame 'em for that!" Vanellope shouted "I told ya, after tha toilet paper, they stopped! All tha paint-! Tha paint…."

The racer had to stop, calming herself down as she looked into Ralph's eyes. The man was obviously hurt from her actions but she still felt that she had to defend them.

"There were these others guys, some guys I didn't know."

"What game were they from?" Ralph growled, looking more and more like a father who was out to get the men who harmed his child.

"How should I know?! I've only been outta my game for a few weeks now! But they said they would help and-!"

"And you TRUSTED 'em?!" the man said, getting even more flustered "Oh my GOBS! Vanellope, ya let STRANGERS into Niceland an' then allowed them ta paint those words?!"

"I DIDN'T ALLOW 'EM!" Vanellope said, trying her best to defend herself "I didn't want things ta get that far, believe me! But they just kept goin' an goin' an goin'! I told 'em ta stop! I BEGGED 'em ta stop but they just kept on writin' an' sprayin'!"

The girl shook her head, looks of pain in her eyes.

"Please believe me, Ralph! I know I wanted ta play a trick on tha Nicelanders but I didn't want ta go that far! I got outta there when they started fightin' but now I wish…."

Vanellope lowered her head, turning away from the man.

"Look, I'm sorry okay! I just thought what I was doin' was gonna help ya…."

"Help…." The wrecker said in a low voice "Ya really thought that doin' all of this was gonna HELP me?"

* * *

Calhoun held onto Felix, the woman drawing him closer as she shut her eyes "So that's the story?"

"Yup…" the man said with a heavy heart "All of it."

The man felt terrible for telling Calhoun the truth but he knew he had to. It just wasn't right for him to hide what had really happened to Ralph under his watch.

"So go ahead….kick me out right now for bein' so dumb."

"Why on Earth would I do that?" asked Calhoun.

"Because it shows that I'm no hero….I let Ralph down all these years an' now it's happenin' again with tha Nicelanders." The man moaned "It's like…no matter what I try, in tha end someone is gonna suffer for it an' I have ta sit back an' WATCH. That's what so painful ta me. THAT'S what hurts the most."

Calhoun rubbed her chin, looking down at the little man. Just by the way he held himself she could tell he was hurting greatly from all the calamity that had befallen him and his neighbors. But at the same time, she saw a man who was so dedicated to his job and to those he held near that he couldn't bear the fact of someone hurting him and he WANTED to do something.

She knew that while Felix said he felt like a failure in the entire ordeal, he would never quit. He would feel down for only a second or so but then he would get right back on his feet and back into the action.

Why?

Because he WAS a hero.

His heart was so deadest on pleasing others and caring for them that he didn't seem at all worried about his own health or safety. Calhoun had to admit it to herself, there were some soldiers in her rank who didn't have the same iron will as Felix did.

"Baby, you're a hero. Don't ever let anyone sway you otherwise. Ya have more fight in ya then a Cybug charged on full levels!"

"But that's the thing, Tammy. I don't want any more fightin'!"

"I understand, hun…."

"Do you really?" Felix asked sadly "I mean, I've heard that so many times before when I've asked people to lay off but it seems that no matter what I say, people still do it."

"Felix, listen. Some people are too hard-headed to learn and if they're that much of a burden on you, then you shouldn't waste your time on them."

"I see what you're sayin' but…."

"But what?"

"They just keep goin' at it,Tammy. They just keep goin'…" the man said as he shook his head "I told ya about the spray paint; yeah it was the worst thing ta happen ta tha apartments from an outside source but it's not like it's the first time someone has tried to disrupt us!"

"Oh?"

"I know it's impossible for me ta wish for ya ta have been around back in that early days…" the man began "But WOW! There are some times I wouldn't wanna go back to!"

"Sounds to me this place was just ROCKIN' with excitement back in tha day!" Calhoun said, moving over to draw Felix closer to her.

"Excitin'? I guess ya could call it that but most of tha time, I was tryin' ta make sure tha Nicelanders weren't bein' tossed around by some jerk or eaten or stepped on or…."

The man groaned, pulling the rim of his hat down.

"It's a pixel-eat-pixel world Tammy. I know that for a fact but I always try ta smile, at least ta reassure everyone else. They needed it. But I guess I was so preoccupied, I didn't see tha other problems happenin' under my own big nose…"

"Felix, don't beat yourself up over this." Calhoun said "Ya make it seem like people expect ya to be EVERYWHERE at once an' even for a guy like you, that's impossible. You're HUMAN. Ralph is HUMAN. The Nicelanders are HUMANS. It's just a shame that so many people don't see 'em the same way you do…."

"I guess that's because I lived with 'em long enough ta know that deep down, they're not bad people an' all they wanna do is live their lives without bein' thrown inta chaos."

"One person's chaos is another's excitement…" the woman smiled "A'course, I wouldn't mind a few things happenin' here now an' again! But ya know me!"

"Huh, do I ever Ms. Shoot-em-Up!" the repairman chuckled, poking Calhoun on the nose "But right now? I wanna make sure things are right with everyone but I'm just stuck. I don't want Ralph ta feel left out anymore but I don't want tha Nicelanders ta feel like I've abandoned them or joined in tha fray of people who enjoy messin' with 'em!"

"I think if ya had a good talk with 'em, they would understand." Calhoun said "You said it yourself; you think they're good people an' if they are, they'll understand."

"I just hope they're SANE enough ta listen now…" Felix groaned as he flopped over on his stomach "After today, I think somethin' finally busted in their brains…."

"Just don't go overboard, honey. You have a wonderful job that I am proud of but you are one man. A man who I don't want to see get stretched thin over somethin' that started out as NONSENSE."

"I take my job with pride!" the man said proudly as he sat up "Not because I'm tha 'good guy', but because I know it's tha RIGHT thing ta do! After what happened to Ralph, I made a promise ta myself that I would help EVERYONE but that doesn't mean I'm abandonin' the Nicelanders! Why in the world would I do that? Why in tha world do people EXPECT me ta do that?!"

"The world works in funny ways…." Calhoun said softly, running her fingers through Felix's hair "But it amazes me how patient you are. You've had so many things happen to you this past week yet you haven't broken down or gone off on anyone…"

"It takes a LOTTA work, honey. A LOTTA work…."

Felix looked into his lover's eyes, feeling his heart go aflutter. She always knew how to make things better, almost as if she had her own special gift of fixing things herself. He smiled, laying back into her warm arms and relaxing a bit.

"I know it does, but I think with you by mah side….I can actually fix this!"

"Sarge?"

The two looked up, seeing a female tech member standing by the door. She saluted Calhoun before walking in.

"Heh, you have some visitors."

"Visitors?" the marine said in confusion "Who could it be at this hour, Mouse?"

The tech stepped aside, her hand waving to reveal two tiny characters slowly approaching the door, both looking worn and tired. Felix was startled by the sight, jumping from Calhoun's arms and running towards them.

"Mayor Gene? Mary? What in tha arcade has happened to ya t-?!"

"Things are fine…." Mary sighed with a forced grin "Despite the way we look, things are fine…"

Felix looked over to Gene, sensing that things weren't as pristine as Mary had said they were. Turning his head, the repairman looked over at Calhoun almost as if she expected her to come up with a solution. Getting off from the couch, Calhoun pulled up two chairs, moving a hand towards them.

"Come on you two, sit."

The Nicelanders were a bit hesitant at first but at last they shuffled into the room, climbing onto the chairs but still they remained silent, Felix growing all the more worried.

"Guys, c'mon. What's happened now?"

The mayor shivered, clutching his hands tightly but he knew this was something he couldn't hide. He already had enough guilt and dirt for people to fling at him and after his little outburst with Ralph, he knew he couldn't take any more.

He had to confess to Felix, not just because the entire plan was his fault but because he knew it was the right thing to do.

"Felix? Young man…." The man said, his voice rattling "I….the pies? It….it….."

Felix and Calhoun looked at the shaking little man, almost as if they both thought he were about to explode or something.

"C'mon Genie, just-!"

"It was my fault!" the man blustered "The pies? Or the lack therefor of? I told everyone in the building to stay put today but it wasn't because of YOU! Please believe me when I say that!"

The repairman and the marine looked at each other with stunned looks but not because of Gene's confessions to his crimes but rather how he was acting while spilling it. Gene was usually so snippy and sure of himself but now he looked small, exhausted and scared. Even when the game was threatened being unplugged Gene didn't look this terrified.

Probably because even in the face of that disaster, he hadn't felt like he let Felix down.

Of course, Felix had figured out for himself while talking with Calhoun that Gene HAD concocted something because who else could aside from Felix himself could get the Nicelanders to follow an order such as that?

The only thing Felix wanted to know was WHY Gene had called for such an order; that was the thing that bothered the repairman the most. Looking off to the side, Felix cleared his throat and tried his best to look stern in front of the Nicelander.

"Well, Gene. Nice of ya ta tell me that…." He began "But ya mind tellin' me WHY ya decided ta give tha others a break?"

Gene was panicked now, his eyes wide and scared as he looked of at his friend or as he thought, his FORMER friend!

"I-!"

"Dear, let me explain!" Mary said, jumping in "I know what Gene did was wrong and I'm just as guilty for falling through with it but…but Gene did it because of what someone said about ME."

"YOU?" Calhoun said, arching a brow.

"Wait, someone said somethin' about ya guys?" Calhoun frowned, looking ready for a fight "What was it?"

Mary nodded sadly "Yes….and I guess….I guess I just took it to heart. And Gene took it too far…."

"I-I admit that!" the mayor said, running up to Mary and placing his hands on her shoulder "But please understand, Felix! I couldn't take what was being said about her or our neighbors anymore!"

The man's breathing began to escalate again, some of his anger returning.

"You have to understand! She called us USELESS! WORTHLESS! SHE SAID THAT MARY'S SKILLS WERE USELESS! SHE-!"

"Honey, calm down!"

"SHE?" Felix said "Who is SHE?"

Both Nicelanders looked at each other, dreading the notion of whether or not they should tell Felix that one of his closest friends was the one who started the entire mess.

But if they got this far.

"Felix." Gene said, his tone weak "You won't get mad at us if we tell you?"

"No, no I won't!" the repairman said, shaking his head.

"You won't call us liars, think we're making this up or laugh at us?"

"Of course not!"

"_You won't see us as anything less, will you?"_

"Goodness, where in the arcade have you guys gotten this idea from?" Calhoun said, exasperated by Gene and Mary's behavior.

"We have our reasons to worry, young lady…." Mary said "Believe me when I say we do…."

* * *

"Vanellope, why would ya do somethin' like that?!" Ralph said, sadness on his face "I mean, I can understand ya bein' worried about me but ya took things WAY too far! An' all because of some stuff ya heard at TAPPER'S?!"

"Why are ya mad at me, Ralph?!" the girl growled "What if it would have been true?! What if they were kicking ya out?!"

"Even if it were, I still wouldn't have wanted ya ta take things inta arms like ya did!" the wrecker replied "Things have been NUTS all week thanks ta this!"

"O-Okay, so maybe I was wrong this time…" Vanellope pouted.

"YES. Yes you WERE an' thanks to all these rumors, Niceland has been getting' mud thrown all over it!" the wrecker said "All of this 'protection' has turned downright NASTY, kid an' its makin' everyone miserable! Not just tha Nicelanders but Felix an' me as well!"

"W-well!" the girl said, crossing her arms and turning away "I-I just wanted to-!"

"Nelly, listen…" Ralph began "I appreciate ya lookin' out for me like this but what I DON'T want ya ta do is HURT people like this. HURT people who have done NOTHIN' ta ya an' are tryin' hard enough as it is to owe up to ME AN' get through their own mess in this arcade!"

Vanellope clenched her little fist as she glared up at Ralph, glitching in and out.

"Ya really think it was just about a few pranks don't cha?" she growled "YEAH! I did it! I did it because I HATE THEM and I hate what they did ta ya! I-in fact, I think they DESERVE all tha hate they get here!"

"Fine. YOU HATE THEM." The man said in a surprisingly calm voice, sitting down and placing his hands to his knees "I can't force ya ta change your mind on that an' I don't wanna try but I want ya ta know somethin'…."

The racer looked back, trying her best to stay mad but she found she couldn't.

"When your 'help' spread lies like that you're not helpin' me or yourself. Tha only thing you're doin' is hurtin' people. Think for a second. All those attacks on Niceland? They don't just effect tha Nicelanders. They effect FELIX, they effect tha other characters an' they effect ME."

The girl turned around, looking a bit surprised at the huge wrecker.

"W-what do ya mean they hurt you?"

"What I mean is they hurt my chance of bein' happy in my own home. I don't wanna live in a place where people are MISERABLE or SCARED just because a bunch'a people think that torturin' them is doin' ME a favor. It's NOT, Vanellope. It's NOT!"

"B-but…." The girl said, feeling the weight of her own actions starting to come down on her "I just wanted to help."

"Vanellope…."

The man sighed, placing a hand to his head "Ya know what ya can do ta help me?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Ya can help me clean up some of tha mess that's left over at Niceland AN' one other thing."

"Wh-what?"

"Ya can APOLOGIZE." The wrecker said as he took ahold of Vanellope's tiny hand "It kills me knowin' that Ms. Mary heard those words we said at the bar an' when Gene went NUTS over it….I kinda figured out what happens if ya mess with her…"

"Doomsday?"

"Worse than that…" Ralph said, whistling.

Vanellope looked at the ground, her heart feeling heavy. She was starting to realize the gravity of her actions and just how she was as vulnerable as anyone in the arcade to get caught up in gossip. She remembered from the beginning how she wanted to protect Ralph from the Nicelanders after what they had done towards him over the years but after seeing how much malice she had caused and what had happened when the controls left her hands, she was starting to see just how damaging rumors could be, especially when anger was added to the mix.

She didn't want Ralph to suffer but even with her 'good intentions' he was and after the talk he had given her, she was starting to realize that by getting angry at the Nicelanders, she wasn't making them respect Ralph any more than she wanted to.

In fact, what if she had made things worse for them? What if she was driving them even further apart?

She didn't want to think about the possibilities but they were there, staring her right in the face.

And then there was the knowledge that her words had become so hateful, so bitter that even Mary had cried over them.

To think that Ms. Mary, a woman who since the first day she had seen her had treated Vanellope with the upmost of kindness, the upmost of RESPECT, had CRIED over what she had said.

Vanellope had truly learned that words hurt and it didn't matter who they came from.

Like everyone else in the arcade, she was capable of making big mistakes, mistakes that hurt.

"_Aw man…._" The girl thought to herself "_I flubbed this one up big time…._"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen - Proof

That night, Ralph stayed with Vanellope, feeling a bit better to be with her in Sugar Rush and calm down after the exchanged that had happened before. Thankfully being a Sunday, it wouldn't matter if the two woke up late or not but they knew they couldn't hide forever.

They both had a job to do.

Rising just as soon as the sun did, the two characters made their way over to Fix-it-Felix Jr., their hearts feeling heavy but their minds made up. They HAD to clear things up and hope that there was something left from all the damage that had been done over the week.

Vanellope felt the worst, knowing that she was soon going to come face to face with a person she had really hurt and even with all the time that had passed between her talk with Ralph and that moment she still didn't know what to say.

Even though she hadn't known the Nicelanders for long, knowing that her words had hurt Ms. Mary brought about a guilt that one feels when they hurt a dear friend. Vanellope knew that Mary didn't see anything wrong with the child and from the way she doted on her since their first encounter, the little woman seemed to think nothing but the world of her.

But would that be the same now?

Had Vanellope ruined what could have been a good friendship with someone and all over some words that were not true?

She sighed, knowing that she would soon get the answer.

"Ralph?"

"Yeah?"

"Ya think this is gonna be worth it?" the girl asked "I mean, what if they don't wanna talk ta me?"

The big man smiled down at his little friend "C'mon. Don't be like that. I'll be right by your side so there's no reason to be scared."

"I'm NOT scared!" the racer pouted "Its just…I just wanna make sure that I don't do anything else stupid. Ta hurt ya or anyone else….I mean, I already messed up big enough as it is. What if they-?"

"If I could forgive tha Nicelanders…." Ralph began "They can forgive you. I think we all learned from what happened the consequences of what happens when we allow anger ta keep us apart an' how it hurts us all. Tha guys wouldn't wanna repeat what we had to live through for thirty years before so I hope…."

The man had to stop, pulling Vanellope over to a bench. Now HE was starting to get nervous but he knew he had to be brave for his friend's sake. He couldn't let her feel as if she was going into this alone.

"Well, I'm sure we can explain it. I'm SURE they'll understand…."

Vanellope joined her friend on the bench, looking down on the floor.

This was going to take a bit for both of them to get going.

"Hey big guy? I had a thought about what ya said earlier…."

"About what?"

"'Bout bein' proud of who ya are….I love ta race, ya love ta wreck….but I just realized, I've NEVER had Nicelander pie before."

"Wait, you HAVEN'T?" Ralph asked in surprise.

Vanellope shook her head "We were so busy goin' around with all tha other places here that I never really got a chance ta sit down an' eat a slice of pie. Is it really that good?"

Ralph smiled "Tha best ya'll ever taste, kid. I don't know what our programmers were doin' when they put us together but they really made sure those pies had a lotta kick an' love in 'em. An' with Mary's-!"

"Ya think she'll let me try some? Even after what I did?"

Ralph rubbed the girl's head "She's a sweet woman, Nelly. I bet she'll have a whole line of pies ready for ya when-!"

"I-I told you gentlemen, STOP!"

The two friends jolted at the sudden shout from behind them, ducking away behind the bench and looking around for the source.

"_OOH! Tha heck was that?!_" Vanellope meeped as she looked around. Ralph looked ahead, finally seeing a familiar figure walking towards their direction, though she was unaware that the wrecker was even around.

"Where ya goin' chunky?" called a cruel cackle. Right before him was Meg, the small woman trying her best to walk away from two MUCH LARGER characters as they began to surround the small woman, her hand clutched tightly around her handbag.

"_MEG?!_" the wrecker whispered to himself "_What tha heck are ya doin' up this early?!_"

Oh no, SUNDAY.

The day Meg made her usual morning tea deliveries to other games.

"L-look, I don't want any fights. I just want to get home!" the woman said, trying her best to seem angry but failing on the part that the characters were moving in on her more than ever. Meg may have been shy but she was trying her darndest to remain calm and in control but the others could see her weakening, her fear of them showing through.

"Home? So ya can do what?" the leader of the bunch said, his face scrunching up in anger "So ya can mess with Ralph like ya always do?"

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" the woman finally shouted, her tiny little voice coming out in an almost comical squeal. 'Comical', had the situation not been so frightening.

"Wait, wait, wait sweetie! Don't leave us so soon!" said another character, reaching down and pulling Meg by the large petal on her headband "We have SO much to discuss together!"

The woman let out a loud squeak, reaching up and smacking the offending hand away. She didn't stop though, moving, or at least ATTEMPTING to move, faster than before, her tiny little feet carrying her as fast as they could move.

If only she could get home. The game was so close yet she could only move at such a speed thank in part to her design.

"_Ralph!_ _What should we do?!_" Vanellope said, pointing towards the scene.

Ralph stopped her, pushing her back down to the floor as he ducked as well. HE knew he had to do something but witnessing the very thing that Gene said was a problem both he and the other Nicelanders faced was something to behold.

He figured that the little people did get some guff but he didn't expect them to be GANGED-UP on and with people witnessing as well!

"I-if you're concerned about Ralph, I can assure you we've welcomed him back into our game…." Meg meeped, holding her bag tighter still "So please! You don't have to do this!"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah we DO!" the third creature said, stepping in front of Meg, causing the poor woman to scream in fright "Ya see, after everythin' got out, the boys an' I decided on somethin'!"

Meg took a few steps back, looking every which way for a way to escape but she was becoming surrounded and quickly "I-Interesting. And what is this gr-grand idea you've th-thought of?"

"Me an' tha boys decided that maybe we should do somethin' ta make sure that lil snot-wipe NPCs like YOU know your place in your game!" snarled the leader "Ya guys have been getting' WAY too cushy as of late! Bout time someone brought ya down!"

Meg tried to dart out of the way but the move was spotted, a gnarly hand reaching out and grabbing her by the collar. She shrieked as she was lifted off the ground, her bag dropping as the contents fell and rolled all over the floor.

"**_LET ME GO!_**" the woman hollered, getting upset this time. Shy as she might have been, she was starting to get upset, her hands trying to smack the offender again but they held her out just far enough where her arms would never be able to reach, her legs flailing in the air.

"Aw, how cute…"

"Not until ya an' tha rest of us boys have a lil chat!" the leader snickered "So why don't we take ya back with tha rest of your butter-chunk crew an' have a NICE mornin' talk with EVERYONE?"

Ralph could feel his heart pounding and his blood boiling at the sight. The monsters KNEW they had a great advantage over Meg and they were using every chance they had to harass her. The little woman continued to dangle in the creature's hand but even with the brave face she had put up, it was starting to drain. Even from their distance, Ralph and Vanellope could see the look of desperation and FEAR on the Nicelander's face, her eyes screaming for her, begging and pleading to be let go.

An unearthly growl began to come from deep within Ralph's chest, the man rising SLOWLY from the hiding spot, Vanellope looking up.

She then looked back towards the creatures only to peer back up at Ralph.

That look in his eyes; the burning look of ANGER.

Vanellope KNEW something was about to go down and for her own safety, it was best she not get tangled up into it.

Without saying another word, the little racer slowly ducked for cover, Ralph stomping off towards the fight, his footsteps so HEAVY that Vanellope could feel them as he walked over!

"Ya lil fat blobs! Ya think ya can walk around here like ya own tha place?!" the second creature laughed, just RIPPING the headband from Meg's hair, the woman screaming as it did so.

"I-I feel as if I own my HOME, that's IT!" the woman stammered "What more do you want me to say?!"

"SHUT IT!" the leader roared, scaring Meg even more "Lil pathetic waste of space like ya should stay in your own game, not mingle with characters who actually DO something!"

"YEAH!"

Meg felt her anger starting to rise again but at the same time, so was her fear. She cursed her choice of walking outside the apartment alone on this day.

"W-We do something!" Meg said, trying her all to defend herself "WE DO!"

"Yeah right! Like PIE-MAKIN' means anythin'! I could make pies with my FEET an' it would mean more than what ya lil pigs put out day after day!"

"Hah! Who would be PROUD ta be a pie-maker?!"

"It's such a WORTHLESS job!"

"No wonder you're so fat!"

Vanellope felt as if an arrow had gone through her chest; OUCH.

Weren't some of those the very words she had said on that faithful night?

To hear them coming from the mouth of an actual MONSTER made her realize just how venomous those words were…and it hurt.

Back at the scene, the gang of creatures weren't about to give up. They were enjoying themselves way too much by now and seeing Meg squirm in their clutches was something that brought to them such joy and delight, one would have thought they had cleared the special winning stage of their own game.

Meg just continued to hang in the claws of those who had captured her, but in that moment….

"Tha next time I see one of ya Nicelanders out here, I'll-!"

One button.

Two button.

"HEY!"

The monster felt a sudden shift, looking down just as Meg had unbuttoned her coat and slid out. She landed on the floor roughly but jumped up quick enough to dart out of the way much to her mugger's anger.

"SHE'S GETTIN' AWAY!"

The little woman squeaked and prayed to every programmer she could think of that her feet would be able to keep her ahead of the others, knowing they were madder than ever at her attempts to escape.

"Run, run, RUN!"

***BOOM!***

"OOF!"

Meg fell back with a hard thud on her bottom, feeling as she had ran into a brick wall.

Bricks?

She looked up, gasping as Ralph TOWERED over her, the big man looking furiously down at her.

Just her luck, not only had she upset a few creatures just by MINDING HER OWN BUSINESS, not ralph was there to add to the fury. She knew he'd be upset about the missing pies from the last game day but she never thought it would become this bad.

"_Oh lords…_"

"Now we got cha…." the leader of the creatures hissed, his long tongue licking his chops.

He was certain that Ralph had appeared only to aid in their little 'discussion' but the man did not move, standing as still as a statue and looking as angry as could be. Vanellope looked up from her cover, her heart racing to see what Ralph would do next.

"_Big guy, whaddya-?!_"

"Look, Ralph. I'm sorry!" Meg said, her voice shaking "Please understand I was only doing what I thought was-!"

Ralph bent down, taking Meg into his hands, her tiny frame so small he could have easily lifted her with one finger if he wanted to.

He sat her on her feet.

He brushed off the dust on her blouse and skirt.

He then stood over her, his arms crossed and his chest out, glaring at the monsters before him.

"Leave her alone."

For a moment, no one knew what to think or do. Meg just stood in front of Ralph completely clueless as to what had happened while the creatures?

They looked as if someone had just pulled the rug from right under them.

"Er, WHAT?" said the second creature, cautiously taking a step towards the man.

"Ya heard me…" the wrecker said, arching a brow in anger "I said, LEAVE HER ALONE."

The monsters looked at each other again, trying to figure out exactly what to make of the situation and how to respond but for the life of them, they couldn't think of anything.

"Wait a second….you're tellin' me ya WANT us ta back off from her?" asked the third creature.

"Is that a concept too difficult for ya ta grasp?" Ralph said in an aggravated tone "Ms. Meg didn't do anythin' ta YOU guys? Why are YOU givin' her a hard time?!"

The creatures were REALLY thrown for a loop this time, shocked to find that Ralph was actually DEFENDING a Nicelander, one of the very people who had shunned him so long ago. Of course, it wasn't like Meg felt any more comfortable in the situation. She was the tiny one towered by giants and Ralph being so close to her didn't make her feel any better.

"_R-Ralph?_" the woman whispered up to the man "_W-why are you-?_"

Ralph shook his head as he looked down at the woman. She looked into his eyes, seeing that he was being honest in his words and in that moment, she suddenly felt safe.

Well, not one-hundred percent safe but she at least felt BETTER.

"I saw the entire thing…." Ralph growled as he moved forward "An' ya got a lotta never treatin' people like this!"

"B-But we were just doin' this for YA big guy!" the third character said.

"_Dude, shut up!_" gasped the second as they nailed their partner in the gut with an elbow.

Meg shrank back a bit, feeling the sharp jab of the creature's eyes going into her but Ralph remained still and calm.

"Doin' this for me, eh?" the wrecker said, small smiles appearing on the faces of the creature "It's just so 'SWEET' of ya guys to care so much for me but this? What you're doin'? ALL OF THIS? **_STOP IT!_**"

Ralph's voice BOOMED throughout the entire station, several characters turning and finally noticing the scene that was unfolding before them. Vanellope, still in her little corner, felt that she could no longer hide from what her friend was doing. She GLITCHED from behind the bench, walking into full view of everyone but like them, she remained silent, Ralph's actions surprising her.

"I'm gettin' REALLY tired of people talkin' over me, thinkin' that hurtin' people actually helps me because it DOESN'T!" boomed the man "I just want ta get home ta a game where everyone is comfortable an' happy. How does makin' everyone else miserable succeed in that!?"

Ralph suddenly picked Meg up, the woman once again squeaking like a mouse.

"Do ya REALLY think you're top-shelf pickin' on people like her?! DO YA?!"

The creatures and Meg exchanged glances, neither side knowing what to do next.

"B-But Ralph-!" the leader of the creatures said.

"Don't BUT me!" the man growled "Ya know what ya did was WRONG but ya did it anyway because ya just wanted an excuse ta harass someone else, not ta HELP me but because ya just get your jollies off! Stop usin' **_ME_** as an excuse for **_YOUR_** hatred!"

"W-We don't **_HATE_** tha Nicelanders!" the third character shivered "W-we were just-!"

"Oh, then what were ya doin' with Ms. Meg?" scowled the wrecker "Showin' her a good time? Sure didn't look like it to me!"

The leader of the creatures knew that things were going from bad to worse but he also knew that if Ralph were any angrier, the man could have EASILY smashed them into the floor. The group had to salvage whatever dignity they had left and get out before things got really heated!

"O-Okay, we get it!" the creature said "We'll leave tha lil butter balls alone if that's what-!"

The creature let out a choked cry as it felt the crushing grip of Ralph's hand going around his throat! He was pulled forward and off the ground, the huge wrecker glaring at him angrily and all the while, little Meg rested in the other hand, looking bewildered to everything she was laying witness to.

"Lemme tell ya this scale-bait. If I ever, **_EVER_** see ya messin' with ANY of tha Nicelanders or **_ANYONE_** for that matter, I'm gonna show ya that these fist aren't made just for wreckin' buildin's, **_YA HEAR ME?!_**"

The creature did everything in its might to nod, his eyes bugging out as he looked up at Ralph. The wrecker wasn't convinced fully but he slowly set the creature down, glaring at the others as he did so.

"So, anythin' ELSE ya gentlemen want ta say?"

The creatures looked at Meg before looking back up at Ralph, the man still looking furiously down at them. They rushed back over to her bag, grabbing the items and scooping up the spilled contents from the floor.

"Sorry ma'am!"

"E-ev-everything is in its place!"

"Y-Y-ya want me to carry 'em back for ya?!"

"N-No, that's quite alight…." Meg said shyly "I-I can handle it!"

The group continued their feared smiles at the woman but they slowly began to slink back, that was before the finally turned and ran for their lives, rushing back into their game. Once back in their game, Ralph heard a clap.

Then another.

Then another.

Soon the entire arcade had erupted into a wave of applause, the wrecker still standing in the middle of the station with the tiny Nicelander in his hands. He looked around, seeing a gaggle of characters coming near him but the man lifted up his empty, shaking his head.

"_No, no, no. Don't, please…._"

"Wow, that was **_AMAZING_**, Ralph!" said Dig-Dug.

"No it wasn't…."

"Man, did you see those guys RUN! I should have gotten some footage of that!"

"Guys."

"Can you be MY bodyguard, Ralph?" smiled a little angel girl "I think it would really-!"

"GUYS!" the man bellowed, holding his arms out "GUYS, can we NOT do this?!"

The crowd stood silent as they looked at Ralph, a little surprised that the man wasn't taking the cheers that he was being given very well. He sighed, putting a hand to the back of his neck.

"Look, as great as it is….I don't need this." The man said "I just wanna get home, an' I wanna make sure that Meg is safe."

The Nicelander looked up, shrinking back even further as the crowd turned their focus on her. They were confused but they didn't want to upset the man any further, all agreeing to leave the group be as they split and left on to their own games. Finally at peace, Ralph helped Meg to her feet again, handing the woman back her head band.

"You okay Ms. Meg?"

Meg turned towards Ralph, blushing brightly. She wasn't sure what to say to Ralph but she knew she had to say SOMETHING.

"_Th-thank you…._"

"Aw, it was nothin'…." Ralph smiled warmly "It's somethin' anyone would have done…."

"N-No its not…" the woman whimpered "You don't know how long we…."

She stopped, shaking a bit as she clutched tighter onto her bag, looking as if she were going to cry. Ralph moved forward, putting a hand on the woman' back.

"Hey, hold on! There's no need to be upset!"

"I'm sorry Ralph. I'm sorry that I couldn't stand up for myself and had to drag you into MY problems but-!" Meg said, a few tears running down her chubby cheeks "If-If I could actually DO something, you wouldn't have to waste your time on us or-!"

"NO. No that's not it at all." Ralph said with a serious look on his face "None of this was your fault. It was just me not looking at the bigger picture of things here in tha arcade."

"S-so, you're not upset at all of this?" the woman said softly.

"Oh, I am…" Ralph nodded "But not at YOU. I think after seein' this, I should-"

"Ralph?"

The man turned and saw Vanellope looking at him, the little racer completely awestruck from the event.

"Nelly? You okay kid?"

The girl simply nodded as she walked forward, her mind still trying to calm down from everything that had happened in front of her.

It was only a few days ago that her anger based on a few rumors had caused all of this and what was worse was her belief that she was helping the very friend she wanted to protect. Instead, she had lit a fuse that was hurting others, others who only wanted to show that they HAD changed and that they were willing to let Ralph back in.

And in that moment, she saw the very proof of what so much anger, so much hate, and so many rumors had brought.

Vanellope walked over to the tiny woman, guilt in her heart and on her face. She no longer saw someone who wanted to hurt Ralph but a character like her; someone who knew what it was like to be pushed around. Someone who knew the helplessness that came from have no one to support you.

As she looked down at the small woman, she found that she could no longer stay mad at her. She had no reason to do so.

"_M-M-ma'am?_"

Meg looked at the girl, not sure what to say. The racer extended a hand towards the small woman, an unsure smile starting to appear on her face.

"A-are you okay?"


End file.
